Everyone Has Secrets
by Foxy527
Summary: Investigating the murder of a high profile attorney, the Five-0 team stumbles upon a secret from someone close to them. Everyone has secrets, but they eventually all come out! Steve/OC pairing eventually. Rated T for now...May be changed to an "M" rating later.
1. Chapter 1

**Watching re-runs of past seasons, I recently had a new story idea come to me. I do not own anything related to Hawaii Five-0 and this story is completely a work of fiction on my part. Hope you will enjoy! Please let me know what you think.**

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_(Late Tuesday morning-Five 0 Headquarters)_

The members of Five-0 had just returned from a crime scene where a high profile criminal attorney had been murdered. A few witnesses had been interviewed, Max was getting ready to perform an autopsy on the body, and other evidence had been sent to forensics for analysis. In the meantime, the team tried to start putting pieces together of the evidence they had on hand.

"So our vics name is Marcus Cutler." Kono began as the man's driver's license picture appeared on the screen for them to see. "He's a criminal defense attorney out of Phoenix who was here for a seminar this week. He was here with several other members of his law firm as well as a couple hundred other attorneys from around the country."

"How long had he been here?" Steve asked.

Chin answered, "The seminar started yesterday and is supposed to last through tomorrow. However, Mr. Cutler arrived last Friday and spent the weekend here for some r&r according to some of his co-workers."

"Any witnesses see him with anyone over the weekend before the seminar started?" Danny asked.

"That's where we're getting conflicting stories." Kono said. "Two of his co-workers said he came alone, but hotel employees saw him in a heated discussion with a woman at the hotel bar on Sunday night. They gave us a basic description of her: Early to mid 30's, 5'6", long brown hair, attractive."

"Okay. So that description could fit countless women on the island on any given day." Steve replied, "Do we know her name or have any surveillance pictures or video from the hotel showing the two of them together?"

Kono continued, "Yep. The videos from the bar were pretty grainy and it was hard to get any clear shots of their faces. However, I was able to pull some video from outside of Cutler's hotel room last night. I ran it through our facial recognition software. This is what we have." She posted a surveillance photo of a woman entering the hotel room as well as a picture of her Arizona Driver's License which had been matched through the program. "Her name is Cassandra White. She doesn't appear to have a criminal record. In fact, everything is pretty clean so I haven't been able to find out much about her so far."

Steve studied the picture on the driver's license and noticed something familiar about her although he couldn't figure out what it was. It was something in her eyes….like he'd seen her before but couldn't remember when or where. "We need to find her ASAP." he told his team. "We need to know where she is staying, how she is connected to Cutler, and if anyone else saw the two of them together. Get her picture out to HPD and have her name flagged in case she tries to fly out. If she's involved, we need to find her before she leaves the island."

Before long, Chin had confirmed that Cassandra was staying at the same place as Marcus Cutler so the entire team headed back to the hotel. Upon arriving, Chin and Kono went to speak with some of the witnesses again while Steve and Danny got Cassandra's room number from hotel management and decided to try their luck at finding her still there.

They got off the elevator on the 10th floor and headed towards her room. As they got about halfway down the hall, the door opened and Cassandra started to come out with bags in hand. Danny called out to her, "Cassandra White?" She looked up startled at the two men approaching her and quickly moved back into the room and slammed the door. Steve and Danny picked up their pace and quickly knocked on the door.

"Ms. White, we're with Five-0. We need to talk to you."

"Who the hell is Five-0? Go away!" she yelled from behind the door.

Steve tried again, "My name is Steve McGarrett. We need to talk to you about Marcus Cutler and we're not leaving until we do. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I'd rather go the easy way, if you don't mind. Please open the door."

"I said go away! I'm calling security." she yelled back. Then as an after thought, she added, "AND I have a gun."

The shaking in her voice made her sound more scared than threatening which told Steve she was probably bluffing. He was growing impatient, though. Noticing a certain look on Steve's face that he'd seen many times before, Danny clasped his hands together as if begging and said, "Please don't break the door. Please. I'm begging you."

Steve just looked at him and smiled while holding up what looked to be a room key, "I had them give me one before we came up. Just in case."

"Ah. What a relief. So I am finally rubbing off on you!" Danny smiled.

"Whatever." Steve said and rolled his eyes as he turned back to the door.

"I'll give you one more chance, Cassandra." When he didn't hear anything, he added, "I need for you to slowly open the door by the count of three or we're coming in. One.…two.…" Steve paused hoping she would open the door. When that didn't happen, "Three.….Alright, we're coming in"

Steve slid the keycard into the door and entered first with his gun drawn.

When they didn't see her right away, Danny called out to her, "We just want to talk to you." They rounded a corner and found her by the bed with a gun pointed in their direction.

So much for bluffing, Steve thought to himself, "Put the gun down. Now." his voice was low and firm leaving no doubt he expected her to comply.

"Are you KIDDING me?" she snapped. "You just entered my room uninvited and you want ME to put down MY gun?! I have no idea who you people are!" Steve saw the gun shaking in her hands.

Mustering all the patience he had, he answered her, "I told you, we're with Five-0. We need to talk to you about Marcus Cutler. Now if you'll just put down your gun, we can do that."

"Show me your badge." Cassandra demanded. "And do it slowly. No sudden movements!"

He released his left hand from the gun to pull his shirt tail away from his belt and show her his badge. "My name is Commander Steve McGarrett. This is my partner, Detective Danny Williams. We need to ask you some questions."

"Yeah, so you've said. About Marcus Cutler." Cassandra took a deep breath and slowly lowered her gun, "What has that good-for-nothing-womanizing weasle done now?"

"So I take it you didn't like him very much?" asked Danny.

"Like him?" she laughed sarcastically, "I hated that man. There was nothing about him that was likeable. At all."

"Did you hate him enough to kill him?" Steve asked.

Cassandra stared at them stunned, "What? What are you talking about?"

"He's dead, Ms. White." Danny said. "You were one of the last people to see him alive, which is why we need to clear some things up."

"What do you mean, he's dead?" she asked.

"Dead." Steve confirmed. "Murdered actually. He was found in his room this morning by hotel staff. We need to know why you went to his room last night."

Cassandra glared at Steve. "Exactly _what_ are you insinuating, Commander?" she spat.

"I'm not insinuating anything. Just trying to figure out why you would be seen entering the room of a 'good-for-nothing-womanizing weasle'…. on the same night he was murdered."

"Not _killing_ him, if that's what you think. I can assure you, he was very much alive when I left."

"Good. Then you won't mind coming with us so we can talk about this a little more."

Cassandra seemed to take a moment to think about it. She didn't really want to go, but looking at Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams, she got the feeling she didn't have a choice. "Okay fine." she said. "Just let me get my bag."

As she gathered her things, Steve called Chin to let him know they had found her and were taking her back to HQ.

The threesome made their way to the lobby which was suddenly full of a busload of tourists who were checking in. A crazy thought entered Cassandra's mind. Thanking her stars she had worn comfortable shoes, she seized the moment and took off in a sprint for the door. It took Danny and Steve a moment to catch on. "Oh come on!" Danny shook his head in disbelief.

"I'll get her, Danny. Go get the car." Steve said as he took off after her. Steve had to hand it to her, she was pretty fast. Not fast enough to out run him, though, so he caught up to her quickly. He grabbed one arm as she tried unsuccessfully to wiggle free. "Let me go!" she yelled. "You don't understand. It's not what you think!"

Steve ignored her protests and quickly got both hands behind her back as he pulled her back against him stopping her from moving anymore. "So much for doing this the easy way." he said into her ear as he pulled out his handcuffs.

"Are you serious? You're handcuffing me?"

After securing her arms behind her back, he turned her around to look at him, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you just try to run away from us?"

Cassandra swallowed nervously as she looked at the man glaring at her, "Temporary moment of insanity?" she rationalized as she tried to look as innocent as possible.

Danny pulled up beside them in the car and Steve opened the door to put her in the back. Cassandra looked at him pleadingly, "Please take the cuffs off. Please?"

Steve seemed to consider it for a moment before answering her. He still couldn't shake the feeling he knew her from somewhere and that familiarity softened him somewhat. "Promise to be a good girl?"

She shook her head, "I promise." Steve relented and removed the handcuffs and helped her get into the backseat before climbing in beside her.

"You're riding back here too?" she asked in disbelief.

"You've already pulled a gun on us AND tried to run away. I'm not taking any more chances." Steve answered much to her chagrin.

They rode in silence until they reached Five-0 headquarters. Steve helped Cassandra out of the car before taking her elbow and walking her in. As they entered the offices, Steve saw Joe standing inside and remembered they had scheduled a lunch appointment. He had been so wrapped up in the investigation that morning that he'd forgotten to cancel.

Seeing Joe as well, Cassandra suddenly stopped in her tracks making Steve bump into her.

"Daddy?" she said.

Joe turned around. "Cassie?!"

**Chapter 1 is complete. I love to hear from reader's, so please let me know your thoughts on this one. I'm still formulating where I want this story to go….so we'll see what happens. Hope you come along for the ride! **


	2. Chapter 2

Steve looked at Cassandra. Then at Joe. Then turned Cassandra towards him.

"Daddy?" he repeated as he looked at her. Looking back at Joe, he continued, "Clearly I'm missing something here."

"Cassie is my daughter." Joe answered matter-of-factly before looking at Cassie, "Honey, what are you doing here?"

Steve and Danny both looked confused as Chin and Kono came out of their offices to see what was going on.

"You know Commander McGarrett?" Cassie asked Joe.

Joe opened his mouth to answer her, but Steve held up his hand to cut him off. "Hold on. Danny take her to interrogation. I'll be there in a minute."

"Interrogation?" Joe asked alarmed and looking more than a little pissed off, "What are you talking about? What is it you think she's done, son?"

Steve walked past Joe motioning for him to follow, "In my office, Joe. Right now."

Danny walked out with Cassie towards the interrogation room while Joe followed Steve into his office. Chin and Kono decided to wait it out and hope someone would clear up their confusion soon as well.

"What the hell is going on, Joe?"

"I could ask you the same question." Joe answered causing Steve's irritation to grow.

"I don't have time for games!" he yelled. "How is it I've never known you had a daughter?"

"It's a long story." Joe said.

"Okay. Why don't you give me the Cliff Notes version?"

Walking over to the small refrigerator in Steve's office, Joe helped himself to a beer and handed one to Steve. Steve refused, "Stop stalling and tell me what's going on."

Joe sighed, sat down in one of the chairs, and took a long drink before continuing, "That young woman is my daughter. Cassandra Grace White. Her mother was my first wife, Melissa."

"That still doesn't answer how I've known you my entire life and even _lived with you_ for part of it and never knew this."

"As you know, Melissa and I met around the same time as your parents when John and I were in the Navy together. We got married about the same time, too…..and eventually each had a baby within a year of each other. Your parents had you and Melissa and I had Cassie. Things were good for the first few years, but Melissa had a hard time adjusting to Navy life….Especially after I joined the SEAL's. By the time we had Cassie, I was gone a lot and she never knew where I was or when I'd be back. I couldn't talk to her about any of the missions, as you know, because everything was classified so we started growing apart. I returned home after one mission to find her and Cassie gone."

Steve sat down in the chair next to Joe and silently waited for him to continue. Joe took another drink, "Melissa didn't want me to be part of Cassie's life. She said she didn't want our daughter to wonder where her daddy was all of the time, and she didn't want me in and out of her life never knowing what was going to happen next. She did everything in her power to make sure I didn't see Cassie _at all._ When Cassie got a little older, she started asking about me again and in order to discourage her from finding me, Melissa filled her head with all kinds of lies about _me_ leaving _them _and abandoning them for my job."

Steve shook his head, "I'm sorry, Joe."

Joe continued, "Then, your Dad sent you to stay with me because of what was going on here. I never told you about Cassie because…Well, it just _hurt_ too damned much." Joe said as he stood up and started to pace, "When Cassie went away to college, I contacted her again and started trying to undo the damage done by her mother. By that time, you had enlisted in the Navy and I just never got around to telling you about her.

"You've obviously patched things up, though, right?" Steve asked.

"Slowly but surely." Joe answered. "It wasn't until Melissa got cancer a couple of years ago that things really started to change. I guess Melissa knew she wasn't going to live long because she started coming clean about things once she started radiation. Before she died, she told Cassie what she'd done to keep us apart and we made amends. We try to see each other whenever we can now, but it's still tough."

Steve tried to digest everything Joe had just told him. Finding out his "Uncle Joe" had a daughter certainly put a spin on things; Especially now that that daughter was a prime suspect in his murder investigation.

"Now why don't _you_ tell _me_ why she's in custody?" Joe asked.

"An attorney was found dead in his hotel room this morning. Your daughter is our prime suspect at the moment."

"What are you talking about? Cassie would never murder anyone."

"Well, that's what I need to find out for sure." Steve answered, "Truth is, she was the last one seen entering his room last night and witnesses saw them arguing at the hotel yesterday as well."

"That still doesn't mean she murdered him!" Joe said a little more loudly than he intended.

Steve stood up to face him, "I know that, sir. Now I need to go talk to her and try to get some answers."

"I want to talk to her first."

"I'm sorry. I can't let you do that."

"Steve….."Joe began, but Steve cut him off again.

"Sir, I promise, I will let you talk to her after I do. Now wait here. I mean it, Joe. If you want me to help her, you need to let me get some answers from her first. I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that he walked out of his office and headed towards the interrogation room where Danny and Cassie were waiting.

Steve rounded the corner and found Danny standing in the hall. He gave Danny a questioning look. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

Danny looked frustrated and rattled, "What took you so long? Did you stop for coffee or something?"

Steve decided to answer Danny's sarcasm with some of his own, "No….I didn't stop for coffee, Danny. I've just been upstairs trying to get some answers from Joe on how it is I never knew he had a daughter until she ended up as the prime suspect in our murder investigation. Now answer my question, why are you waiting in the hallway?"

Danny just smiled at him as if he knew a secret, "She's got a mouth on her, I'll tell you that. I finally couldn't take it anymore so I decided to wait out here before I strapped her to the chair with tape on her mouth."

Steve gave a little half laugh, "Come on, man. How bad can she be?"

"Trust me, my friend. You don't know what you're getting ready to walk into….but I'm going to enjoy watching." he said knowingly.

He followed Steve into the room to find Cassie pacing.

"Well, it's about damn time!" she yelled at Steve. Folding her arms across her chest, she asked, "When can I see my dad?"

"You can see Joe when I get some answers. Now sit down." Steve ordered calmly as he pointed to the chair.

"I'd rather stand, thank you." she replied with sarcasm dripping from each word.

"I said SIT!" Steve ordered more loudly. Cassie jumped a little at his voice and stopped pacing to look at him and figure out her next move. When she didn't comply to his demands right away, Steve pointed to the chair again, "Either sit your ass down or I'll cuff you to it and make you sit. Do you understand me?"

Cassie still didn't move until she saw him reaching for his handcuffs again. Deciding it would be best to do as she was told, she quickly moved to the chair and sat down, "Fine. Fine! Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm sitting." she snapped as she glared at him.

Danny chuckled in the background and Steve tried to hold on to his resolve. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "Thank you." he said although there were no niceties in his tone at all. "Now tell me what you and Cutler were arguing about yesterday and why you were in his hotel room last night. I want the whole story. Right now, Cassie."


	3. Chapter 3

**One of my favorite scenes from the last 5 seasons of H50 has been the one with Steve and Kono in the interrogation room when Kono was working undercover for IA. It was so full of emotion and angst and Steve has never been hotter, in my opinion. ;) I've drawn from that scene a little bit to come up with this one. Because honestly, what woman could be interrogated by our SEAL and not eventually crumble? **

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"Now tell me what you and Cutler were arguing about yesterday and why you were in his hotel room last night. I want the whole story. Right now, Cassie." Steve demanded.

Cassie suddenly felt tired. No, scratch that. She was _exhausted._ Where did she begin and how much did she reveal? And what was her _dad_ doing here? She had been running on pure adrenaline the last couple of days, but walking in to see her dad unexpectedly after one of the most stressful days of her life had almost made her come undone. She started to get a lump in her throat as tears threatened to surface. She took a deep breath and swallowed hoping to keep them at bay.

Steve was watching with interest as he saw her body language change from combative to compliant. Her shoulders slumped and she looked down at her lap instead of looking him in the eyes. She started twirling a strand of her long brown hair around her finger which Steve assumed to be a nervous habit.

_Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!_ , she mentally told herself, but it was no use. She was physically, mentally and emotionally depleted and her emotions won out as tears began to fall.

_Dammit. Please no tears!_, Steve thought to himself as he pulled up another chair to sit in front of Cassie. He could handle a lot of things, but a woman's tears was not one of them. His voice softened, "Talk to me, Cassie. Tell me what happened."

He gave her time to compose herself as he handed her a tissue from a box Danny had retrieved. It wasn't often they had crying in the interrogation room, so this was a change of pace for both of them.

Cassie looked up at Steve and he felt for the first time as if he was seeing more of the "real" Cassie. He was struck by how beautiful she was when she wasn't angry and being difficult to deal with. She may've tried to act like a bad ass, but there was no disguising the turmoil in her eyes right now. Eyes that he realized were crystal blue just like Joe's. No wonder she had looked familiar.

She took a deep breath. Her voice was hoarse as she whispered, "I honestly don't know where to start."

"Why don't you start by telling me how you knew Marcus Cutler."

"I was investigating him."

"Investigating him for what?"

"I'm a crime reporter for a CBS affiliate in Phoenix. I've been investigating some police corruption in the city that is tied to South American drug cartels. Rumor has it that some on the force are being paid to destroy or compromise evidence in those cases. My investigation eventually led me to Marcus' firm because they have defended some of the more high profile cases. Marcus, specifically, had been involved in several of them and I had proof of him paying off some officers."

"Sounds dangerous." Danny commented. "So why did you follow him to Hawaii?"

"I've been trying to determine who or where the funds were coming from. A few weeks ago, one of the private eyes that I work with sent some pictures and a surveillance video to me of a meeting Marcus had with someone. It wasn't someone I recognized as one of his clients, but I could clearly see something change hands between them. I assumed it was money and thought the man may be the one funding the bribes. I dug a little deeper into who he was and came up with what I believed was the man's name. Through other sources, I found out he is on nearly every "most wanted" list you can imagine….all the way up to Interpol. He had been last seen in Hawaii, so when I found out Marcus was coming out here early for the 'seminar', I figured something was going down….and I followed him out here. Turns out, I was right. Marcus met with him yesterday and the discussion got pretty heated from what I could tell."

Steve suddenly didn't like where this was going. "What was the man's name?" he asked her.

"Commander McGarrett, I'm not just going to give you his name and jeopardize months of investi….."

"HIS NAME, Cassandra. WHAT is his name?" Steve voice rose as he stood up to look down at her again clearly trying to use intimidation to get the info out of her.

Refusing to be intimidated, Cassie squared her shoulders again and stood up to look him in the eyes.

"God, you can be **demanding**!" she sighed in frustration, " Wo Fat. His name is Wo Fat."

That seemed to take the wind out of Steve's sails. He stared at her for a moment before speaking. "You need to drop your investigation. Right now."

"What?" she scoffed at the idea. "You're crazy. I'm getting close to finding out who is behind all of this. Everything is pointing to this man, Wo Fat. Since coming out here, I have some new leads I need to follow up on."

"No! You have no idea what you're getting into. Trust me."

"So you know him?" she asked curiously.

Steve's lips were drawn into a tight line, "Yeah, you could say that."

The journalist in Cassie was starting to get excited now, "Great! So you can help me find out more about him!"

"I will do no such thing. Your investigation into Wo Fat is over. Do you understand me? If I have to keep you in custody to make sure that happens, I will be more than happy to do so." Steve looked at her pointedly.

Cassie couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She put her hands on her hips and glared, "Excuse me. Who do you think you are? You can't keep me in custody without charges! And you have no charges because I haven't DONE anything."

Steve ran his hand down his face in frustration. He lowered his voice again and tried to rationalize with her. "Cassie, listen to me. This man is dangerous. Knowing that Cutler and Wo Fat were acquainted tells me that he more than likely is responsible for Cutler's murder either directly or indirectly. YOU need to stay away before you get hurt. You have no idea what or who you're up against."

"I can take care of myself!" she protested.

Steve turned to look at Danny in frustration. Danny shrugged back. He felt Steve's pain, but knew there was nothing he could say to change her mind either. They seemed to be at an impasse.

Steve finally took a determined step towards Cassie and grabbed her hand to lead her out of the room.

"Where are we going? Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"We're going upstairs to talk to Joe. Maybe between your dad and I we can talk some sense into that stubborn head of yours. Oh….and you still need to tell me why you were in Cutler's room last night, but we'll get to that later."

Steve stormed into the offices again with Cassie in tow. He pulled her directly into his office where Joe was still waiting and slammed the door before releasing her.

Chin and Kono looked up from the smart table at Danny.

"Uh…..Wanna fill us in, brah?"asked Kono.

Danny took a deep breath, "The short version: It seems Cassie is involved in an investigation with our murder victim which has also led her to Wo Fat. Steve, of course, blew a gasket when he found out that little bit of info….and rightfully so. He told her the investigation is over. She is refusing to let it go. And now my guess is that he and Joe are going to tag team and hopefully talk some sense into her."

"So she IS Joe's daughter?" Chin asked still trying to piece everything together.

"Apparently so, but I don't have the details on that yet."

Voices in Steve's office were getting louder to the point they couldn't help but listen in.

"Poor girl doesn't know who she's up against." said Kono as she shook her head and laughed a little. "I almost feel sorry for her. No way Steve and Joe are going to let her keep up this investigation with Wo Fat involved. I gotta hand it to her though. Girls got some kahunas to stand up to both Steve _and_ Joe."

Eventually, the voices quieted down as Cassie was reduced to tears of frustration. They couldn't hear what was being said, but it looked as if Steve was doing all of the talking, Joe was backing him up, and Cassie was giving in. Reluctantly. Looking unphased and totally in control again, Steve came out with Joe as they left Cassie in his office to pull herself back together. Walking over to the smart table, he filled them in.

"So this is what we have. Cutler was involved with Wo Fat which leads our investigation in another direction. Before we regroup and I tell you everything else, Joe and I are going to take Cassie back to the hotel to get her things."

Cassie came out of Steve's office. "I'm _not_ leaving Hawaii!" she said.

Steve looked at Joe, who turned to look at Cassie, "You're right. But you're also not staying by yourself until all of this is resolved, young lady. We're getting your things and you're going to stay with Steve until it's over."

"No!" she protested. "I'll just stay with you!" She knew she was pouting, but she didn't care.

"Cassie, sweetie, this isn't open for discussion. I don't have room for you where I'm staying right now, nor do I have a security system. Steve has both. Not to mention the fact that he's a trained SEAL who is very familiar with Wo Fat's patterns. He can protect you better than I can. You'll stay with him for the time being. Now let's go. We need to check you out of the hotel and get you settled at Steve's."

"I am a grown woman who has managed to take care of myself pretty damn well up to now. Stop treating me like a 5 year old!"

Turning towards the exit to walk out with Steve, Joe replied over his shoulder, "Then stop acting like one. Let's go." Steve couldn't hide his smirk. Cassie had never been so humiliated in her life as she grunted in frustration before retrieving her purse. Steve and Joe were both waiting for her at the exit door as she stomped past them on the way to Steve's truck.

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The trip to the hotel was a quiet one. Cassie informed the front desk that she would be checking out and then the three made their way to her room. Approaching the door, Steve noticed it was slightly ajar. He reached out to pull Cassie behind him as he drew his gun and handed another to Joe. He told Cassie to stay in the hall as they walked in to investigate. Cassie was too curious to listen to him, so instead she waited a few seconds for them to enter before going in herself. After her initial shock, she got angry. Her room had been completely ransacked. She quickly looked over the room, "Dammit! My computer and camera are both gone!" she fumed.

Steve turned around to glare at her, "You don't listen very well, do you? Didn't I just tell you to stay in the hall?"

"Well how much danger could I be in with two super SEAL's going in before me?" she replied smartly.

After insuring the room was clear, Cassie repacked her suitcases while Steve contacted hotel management about what had happened in her room. Then they headed towards Steve's house for what he anticipated would be a very long night.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve, Joe, and Cassie arrived at Steve's house a short time later and got Cassie's things inside. Since he hadn't been expecting company, groceries were slim, so Steve left to go get some take-out and left Joe and Cassie at the house to get settled. After a quick shower, Cassie came back downstairs to find her dad on the lanai, so she walked out to join him. He pulled her into a big hug and she felt her troubles melting away. At least for the moment.

"Feel better?"

"Much better." she answered as she looked out over the view from Steve's back yard. "It's beautiful here. Very peaceful."

They stood in silence for a few moments listening to the sounds of the ocean before Joe spoke again.

"Cassie, baby, listen. I know you and Steve have gotten off to a rough start. And I know that he can come across as gruff and structured and unyielding." He felt her laugh into his chest. He released her from his hug and held her back so he could look at her. "But, you need to trust me. I know him better than almost anyone. There is no one….and I mean no one…..who can take care of you better than Steve. You'll be safe here."

"I trust you. I just don't understand why you think I'm even in danger. Wo Fat doesn't know who I am."

"Who do you think tossed your room today? He may not have known you yesterday, but he obviously knows you now. And you must have something….or he _thinks_ you have something….that he wants. That's not a good place for you to be."

"But I need to follow up on the leads I've picked up on my story. Daddy, a story like this could literally make my career!"

Joe shook his head in agreement, "I know. Believe me, I know, but you're going to have to trust me when I tell you that Steve _isn't_ overreacting." He paused for a minute trying to decide how much to tell her before continuing, "Look, Steve has been to hell and back because of that man. His mom, who he thought was dead, ran for 20 years because of Wo Fat before showing up in Steve's life again. His father is _dead_ because of Wo Fat. He's been _tortured_ ….literally tortured….by Wo Fat **and** lost other friends because of him. And that's just the tip of he iceberg. There are still so many questions that haven't even been answered yet. Steve wasn't always this closed off, honey, but he's lost a lot. I promise, if you will just give him a chance, you'll find a great guy under that exterior. Who knows? You guys might even end up friends?" He smiled at his daughter. "You have to believe that I wouldn't leave you here with him if I didn't think it was for the best."

Steve stood just inside the doors and caught most of what Joe said to Cassie.

"I know, Dad, but listen….I'm 35 years old and I've worked dangerous stories like this before. I know what I'm doing. I promise you I'll try to lay low, okay? But you're both going to have to understand that I'm not going to be on house arrest 24/7. Fair enough?"

Steve chose that moment to step outside with the food and a bottle of wine in hand. "Fair enough." he answered in Joe's place and offered Cassie the first smile she'd seen from him all day. Cassie smiled back at him and the tension from earlier in the day seemed to settle just a little.

"See that? You're starting to get along already." Joe said.

The three ate dinner as they shared stories and small talk for the next hour before Joe excused himself saying he had a few things to take care of. After goodbyes, Cassie found herself alone for the first time with Steve. The wine had definitely helped her relax and she felt better than she'd felt in days. Strange considering the predicament she now found herself in.

"More wine?" Steve asked and she agreed even though she knew it probably wasn't a good idea. She already had more than a little bit of a buzz going on. Steve went back into the house to get another bottle and returned a few moments later to refill her glass. She thanked him and he sat back down in the chair beside her.

"You're dad was right." he said quietly.

Cassie turned her eyes away from the ocean to study his handsome profile, "About what?"

"About us getting off to a rough start." he smirked apologetically. "He was also right about knowing me better than most people. Joe has seen me through a lot."

"Sounds like it. You know, I'm actually pretty jealous of you right now. You got time with him that I never had." she smiled at Steve sadly.

Steve reached out to rub her forearm and the touch sent shivers all the way to her toes. "I know it probably doesn't seem fair, but it must have killed him not to be with _you_ all those years. You have to know he tried everything he could to be with you."

"Yeah. My mom turned out to be different than I thought she was. I never imagined she would lie to me all those years about what happened between them. I mean, she essentially lied to me most of my life."

Steve looked at Cassie with understanding in his eyes, "There is something you and I have in common. I totally understand that feeling."

Cassie just shook her head in agreement and took another sip of wine.

"I want to apologize for earlier. For running out on you at the hotel, I mean. I don't know what I was thinking." Cassie glanced sheepishly at Steve.

Steve laughed and Cassie found she really liked the sound of it. "Yeah, me either!"

Cassie playfully swatted him on the arm, "Hey, be nice! You never know….I could give you a run for your money some day."

Steve's eyebrows rose a little, "Oh I have no doubt about that." If Cassie didn't know better, she'd almost think he was flirting.

"I guess I should apologize for putting the handcuffs on you too." Steve said.

"I can honestly say that was a first for me. I've never been arrested before….Never had handcuffs either. Well, not the _real_ ones anyway." As soon as those last words came out, she couldn't believe she had said them out loud.

Steve's gaze fell on her and darkened just a bit as if he was thinking about that comment. "Care to elaborate on that a little more, Ms. Cassie?"

"Uh….no. That's a story for another day." She was blushing and Steve thought it was one of the cutest things he had ever seen. "You know what?" She began again, "I think I've had enough wine for one night. Maybe I should go to bed."

Cassie started to stand up and wobbled a little. Steve was immediately at her side. "Easy." he said as he put an arm around her waist to stop her from falling. She put an arm around his waist to give her something to hold on to and regain her balance. Once her head stopped spinning, she giggled, "Yep. Definitely too much wine. I'm sorry."

"It's okay" Steve looked down at her and liked the way she felt in his arms. It had been a long time since he'd had someone to hold. She lifted her eyes and he saw her briefly look at his mouth before unconsciously licking her lips in a way that had him thinking bad thoughts.

He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in, "You're right. It's been a long day. Let me take you to bed."

Cassie looked up at him again and Steve looked embarrassed. _How cute is that?_ Cassie thought.

"I mean, _inside_. Let me help you get _inside,_" He stammered before focusing on getting her into the house. She stumbled again once they got to the stairs. Figuring it would be easier, Steve lifted her into his arms to carry her. Cassie started to protest, but Steve silenced her, "Shh. I don't want you falling down the stairs okay? Now be a good girl and just enjoy the ride." She caught a double meaning in his last comment and giggled nervously as he carried her up to Mary's bedroom.

"I put an extra blanket on the bed in case you need it….and you already know where the bathroom is. I'll be right next door if you need me. Okay?"

She lifted her hand to cover a yawn and smiled sleepily at him. "Thanks. Goodnight Steve."

"Goodnight, Cassie Grace." Steve's voice was low and soft…seductive even….giving Cassie butterflies in her stomach. She headed towards the bathroom to get ready for bed. As she brushed her teeth, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled again. He had called her "Cassie Grace". Thinking about it gave her butterflies again.

**********h50*********h50

Cassie woke the next morning to the welcome smell of coffee. She made her way downstairs and smiled at the sight of Steve making pancakes. She allowed herself to watch him unnoticed for a moment . He was wearing a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt and he looked better than anything she'd seen in a long time. The man's body was a work of art: Strong and chiseled in all the right places. She realized she was gawking, but she couldn't seem to turn her eyes away. Cassie had dreamt about him last night. She never dreamed. Well, maybe she dreamed, but she never _remembered_ them the next day. Last night's dreams were too vivid and wonderful to forget, though.

Steve turned around to find Cassie watching him from the kitchen doorway. Her hair was messed up and her cheeks looked flushed like she was blushing about something. He liked that look on her and thought he might have to make it happen more often.

_Woah, where did that come from?_ He thought to himself.

"Want some breakfast? I made pancakes and there is some fruit on the table outside."

"Sure. But coffee first, please." Steve poured them both a cup and they made their way outside to enjoy the morning air and have some breakfast. Once they were settled, Steve decided to get something off his mind.

"I need to ask you something about Cutler."

"Okay. Shoot." Cassie replied.

"When Danny and I first found you at the hotel yesterday, you called him a 'good for nothing womanizing weasle'. But then when I asked you later how you knew him, you said you knew him because of the investigation you're doing into police corruption. I haven't been able to make sense of the two."

Cassie moved a bite of pancake around on her plate as she thought of how to answer him. "I am investigating him, but that's not how I first met him."

"Okay. So where does the 'weasle' part fit in?" Steve urged her to continue.

"Marcus was married to my best friend for 10 years. Megan and I have been friends since first grade. She is the closest thing to a sister that I've ever had. They have a little girl, Lily, who is my goddaughter." Cassie stopped for a moment and when Steve didn't say anything, she continued.

"Marcus cheated on Megan and I found out that it had actually been happening for most of their marriage."

"So this investigation actually started out as a vendetta?" Steve wasn't accusatory in his tone, but curious.

"Sort of. I mean, it started out as me wanting to find out if there was anything else he was hiding so Megan could make him suffer….through the legal system….for the pain he caused to her and Lily. That's how I stumbled upon something much bigger. It just sort of grew from there."

"So why were you in his room Sunday night?"

She contemplated what to tell him. "Marcus wasn't in his room when I went in. I snuck in to plant a bug. I also hid a little camera."

"How did you get a key to his room?"

"You'd be surprised what you can get with a little money and a smile. Cleavage usually helps too."

Steve almost choked on his coffee. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." _I'm going to try not to __**think**__ about it either_, he thought to himself. He stared at her for a minute and shook his head in disbelief. "You do realize that you probably nearly missed running in to whoever killed him that night, right?"

Cassie shivered a little as realization hit her. "I hadn't thought about it, but I guess you're right."

"So it's possible that you may've also caught the murder either on video, audio, or both?"

Cassie shook her head. "Yes. But now my computer is gone, so I have nothing."

Steve thought for a minute. "Okay. I need for you to get ready. You're coming in to work with me today."

"What am I going to do there all day? Why can't I just stay here?"

"Because if you did get evidence of _any part_ of the murder, Wo Fat knows that by now. He doesn't know you haven't seen it or heard it….and it doesn't matter. As long as it was in your possession, it puts you in danger. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Don't fight me on this one, Cassie. You're not going to win."

Knowing he meant business, she relented and made her way upstairs to shower and get dressed.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve and Cassie walked into the Five-0 headquarters together a little while later. Danny, Chin, and Kono were going through evidence and talking out possible scenarios of what may have happened the night Marcus Cutler was murdered. Seeing everyone there, Cassie felt embarrassed about the previous days activities and the way she had acted. She certainly hadn't gotten off on a very good foot. She decided to fix that as soon as possible so she walked up with Steve to join them.

"I owe you all an apology for yesterday." She began. "The raving lunatic that you saw was not really 'me'." She stopped as if not knowing what else to say before looking at them with an apologetic smile, "I hope you will forgive me."

Chin was the first to speak up. "Of course. I am Chin Ho Kelly." He extended his hand to hers which she gratefully accepted. Kono introduced herself next putting Cassie at ease about the previous days drama.

Turning to Danny, Cassie offered a separate apology, "Detective Williams, I'm _really_ sorry about the things I said to you in the interrogation room yesterday. "

Steve looked at Danny curiously before raising his eyebrows and casting a pointed gaze at Cassie. "What exactly did you say to him?"

Cassie said a silent prayer that Danny would not rat her out. She had been terrible. She had been awful. She had said things that made her want to crawl under the table and hide right now. Her excuse would be that the only reason she had acted so out of character was because she had been stressed and _scared_. Learning that Marcus was dead had been a shock to her system, but before she had a time to process it, Mr. Super SEAL had taken over and scared the living daylights out of her. Then, she had unexpectedly found her _dad _at Five-0 headquarters but not been allowed to talk to him before being carted away to "interrogation". Steve had just sent her away like some unruly child while _he_ talked to her dad instead. That had made her furious. The fear and fury had overwhelmed her emotionally and her inner bitch, which normally only came out on occasion when she was PMS'ing, had come out in full force. She had taken everything out on Danny because she needed to vent, and well….he was the one close by. Something told her she never would've gotten as far as she did if she would have tried that with Steve. The look he was giving her now, in fact, made her want to disappear for a minute….or two….or ten. Danny must have sensed her uneasiness because her prayer was answered and he stepped in to help her out.

Looking at Steve, Danny dismissed it, "Doesn't matter now. And yes, I forgive you….as long as you will call me Danny instead of Detective Williams." Cassie wanted to hug him, but instead just gave him a grateful smile.

With the introductions over, it was back to business. They mapped out a plan for the morning in hopes of getting some answers to the murder. Chin headed to the ME's office to talk to Max while Danny and Steve went back to the crime scene to see if anything had been missed. Steve was a little surprised that Cassie didn't put up a fight to join them, but decided not to press his luck. Having her at HQ was the safest place for her at the moment and he didn't want her getting in the way. Kono said she would be happy to stay behind and keep Cassie company, so everyone went their separate ways on a mission to get answers.

_(Three hours later)_

Steve and Danny were the first to return. They came up empty at the crime scene and were unsuccessful at learning any new information from anyone at the hotel. The fact that no one had seen anything and no evidence had been left behind pointed to a killer who was experienced, precise, and able to disappear quickly and easily. Those facts alone pointed them in the direction of Wo Fat which had put Steve on full alert and in a foul mood. Not only was Wo Fat quite possibly back on the island, but it was also likely that he had turned his attention towards Cassie because of what she had uncovered in her investigation. With no leads, Steve felt like they were in the dark. He didn't like being in the dark.

Seeing Kono in her office, Steve popped his head in the door, "Hey, we're back. Where is Cassie?"

"In your office. She said she needed to contact her news manager and asked to use a computer, so I got her set up in there a little while ago."

Steve entered his office to find Cassie completely engrossed in something she was looking at onscreen. She appeared to be studying a picture so he made his way closer for a look himself. What he saw on the screen turned his blood cold.

"Where did you get that?" he said in a low growl.

Cassie, who had been completely oblivious to Steve entering the office gave a startled scream and slammed the laptop screen down.

"Geez! Don't you ever _knock_? You scared the crap out of me!"

Steve looked around, "Uh, this is _my_ office. I don't need to knock." He folded his arms over his ample chest and continued, "And you didn't answer my question. _Where_ did you get that picture?"

Cassie's mind was whirling as she tried to come up with a story, but before she could formulate anything, Steve spoke again, "And don't even think about lying to me because I will know." When she still didn't answer, he started to get impatient. "If you could give me an answer sometime today, that would be great." He quipped sarcastically.

Deciding it was best to just get it over with, she answered him. "It's a picture I had from the camera I set up in Marcus' room."

"What?" Steve was furious. "I thought your computer was stolen when your room was ransacked."

"Yes, it was….but I had a back-up file."

The fury on Steve's face made her heart rate speed up. "So you lied to me earlier when you said you had lost any evidence you might've had." He shook his head, "Unbelievable! We just spent the entire morning at the crime scene looking for something we may have missed and you were sitting here looking at photos without telling me about them? What the hell, Cassie?!" His voice was raising with each phrase.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't know if I _had_ anything. With all of your He-man macho crap yesterday, I didn't have a chance to look at anything until now! This is _my_ story! " she tried to defend herself knowing it was hopeless.

Steve took a deep breath to calm down. Walking over to her, he put his arms on the arms of the chair and leaned down so he was just inches from her face. She had no way of escaping even if she tried. "This is also your _life_. I'm trying to _protect_ that, do you understand _that_?" When she didn't respond he reached a hand out to her. Using more control than he thought possible given the fury he was feeling, he demanded, "Give it to me."

"Give what to you?" Cassie asked innocently.

"Don't play games with me, Cassie. Give it to me. _Right now._"

Cassie weighed her options and decided to do as she was told. She reluctantly pulled the USB drive out of the laptop and handed it to Steve. He took it from her and grabbed her hand to pull her out of the chair.

"What are you going to do with it? Where are we going?" she asked. Steve ignored her. Instead he walked out of his office holding her hand tightly in his own and called out for Danny and Kono to come out to the smart table. A few seconds later, Cassie's file list displayed on the screen above.

"Tell me what you've found so far and you better not leave anything out. Understand?"

Cassie sighed in frustration, but did as Steve asked. From what she had gathered, Wo Fat had not been the one to enter Marcus' room that night which meant he was not the killer. Not directly anyway. He may have ordered Marcus' murder, but he had kept his hands clean. No one was surprised by that since it seemed to be his method of operation most of the time. She thought she may recognize the man in the picture, but since the room was dark and the picture was grainy, she couldn't be certain. She had seen a man like this one meeting with Marcus a couple of times in pictures her private investigator had sent to her over the last few months, but she didn't have a name.

"I was actually trying to piece all of this together when you came barreling into the office and scared the crap out of me a few minutes ago." She looked accusingly at Steve who ignored her sarcasm entirely and turned to Kono."

"Kono, get this to Fong and see if he can clean up the image at all. If he can, run it through our facial recognition software and see if you get a hit."

Then turning back to Cassie, he continued, "We need to talk." He took her hand back in his own and led her into his office before closing the door behind them. He took a few moments seemingly to gather his thoughts before motioning towards the couch. "Let's sit down."

Cassie obediently sat on the couch and he sat down beside her. "Cassie, Joe has seen me through a hell of a lot and has saved my life more times than I can count. I would do anything for him. Anything. I can honestly tell you that I have never seen him as worried as he was yesterday when he found out your life was in danger." He waited for that to sink in before continuing, "But I can't help you….I can't _protect_ you….if you are hiding things from me. We are going to have to work together if we are going to find Marcus' killer. You aren't going to be safe until that happens. Do you understand that?"

Looking at the concern in Steve's crystal blue eyes, Cassie felt guilt wash over her. She stood up and turned her back to him as she started twisting her hands together. "I'm sorry, Steve. I really am. I'm just not use to relying on anyone. I mean, my dad has been out of my life more than he's been_ in _it…..and we're still working out how our relationship will work. I'm used to doing everything on my own. Even if we ignore all of the "daddy issues" I may have, this could be a big break for me. Breaking a story like this could get me into a primetime market which is everything I've worked for."

Steve stood up and turned her so she was facing him again. He took her hands into his. "Dammit, Cassie, this isn't just a _story!_ You need to understand that you are in _danger _right now. Wo Fat isn't someone you want to tangle with. And no matter what you think, you are _not_ going to do this alone. I won't let that happen. And I'm sure your dad won't either. Understand?"

Cassie was forced to admit that Steve was right. She was in over her head on this one and it scared the hell out of her. She looked up at Steve and he felt his heart tug at the uncertainty he saw in her eyes. "I'm going to take care of you, Cassie Grace. You can count on that. Okay?" Cassie felt her knees go a little wobbly at this new pet name he seemed to have picked up for her. She took a piece of her hair in hand and started to twist it again. He smiled down at her, "I know one of your 'tell signs' now, you know."

She looked at him curiously, "'What are you talking about?"

"When you are nervous….or _lying to me_" he looked at her pointedly, "You have this thing about twirling a piece of your hair. It's a nervous habit I guess. Adorable, but totally noticeable."

Cassie felt a little frustrated that he'd picked up on that but also strangely turned on that he'd noticed.

"I trust you, Steve. I do." Cassie answered. "Just bear with me. Depending on someone else isn't part of my normal routine, but I will try."


	6. Chapter 6

Cassie's ringing phone interrupted the conversation with Steve. Looking at the phone, she didn't recognize the number.

"Who is it?" asked Steve.

"I don't know." She pushed to answer, "Cassie White. Can I help you?"

"Well that depends." The voice was one she didn't recognize. He was calm. Almost too calm. But the venom in his voice turned her blood cold. She looked up at Steve and swallowed nervously.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"That doesn't really matter. What matters is that you have been a little too persistent into a certain investigation involving Marcus Cutler. You have some evidence that could be harmful to me and I want it."

"If this is who I think it is, you already have my computer _and_ camera, so _**you**_ are the one with all the evidence! I have nothing."

Steve took a step closer to her trying to hear the voice on the other line.

"That's where you are wrong, Miss White. I'm sure a reporter with your experience has a backup _somewhere._ I want it…..and I _will_ get it. You can be assured of that." Cassie found herself shaking despite her resolve to stay calm. Steve noticed how her body language had changed from defiance to fear and reached out to take the phone from her. He pulled her close to him as he held the phone to his ear.

"Who is this?" he demanded.

"Well, hello Steve. It's been a long time."

Steve senses were on full alert as he walked with her out to the smart table where Kono and Danny were still reviewing the photos that Cassie had been able to retrieve from her bugs into Cutler's room. He put one hand over the phone as he whispered to Kono, "See if you can get a lock on this call. I need to know where it's coming from."

Then he put his arm back around Cassie to hold her close to him. He could literally feel her heart beating inside her chest as he turned his attention back to the call. "Wo Fat," he practically growled. Danny looked at him in alarm. Had Cassie not felt so safe in Steve's arms, she would have felt threatened by _both_ men as they volleyed for control in this conversation.

"We need to make arrangements." Wo Fat replied.

"What kind of arrangements?"

"I know she has a backup file. I want it. Give it to me and I will let her live. Otherwise…." He didn't go any further letting Steve fill in the blanks.

"We both know that's not going to happen. I won't let you lay a _finger_ on her. Understand? Besides, _if _Cassie had any kind of evidence, we won't hand it over to you anyway. I can assure you of one thing, though. I will find _you._"

"I'll be seeing you soon then." And with that, Wo Fat ended the call.

"Hello? Hello! Don't hang up on me, you son of a bitch!" Steve voice raised as he tried to get Wo Fat back. He looked at Kono silently questioning whether or not she could trace the call, but already knew the answer. He hadn't stayed on the line long enough. Kono shook her head in confirmation that the call had been cut too short for her to find out where it was originating from.

"Dammit!" he cursed. Putting the phone down, he put his other arm around Cassie so that he was fully embracing her into a hug. Kissing her on top of the head, he tried to calm her down.

"I don't know why, but he terrified me." Cassie began. "I could hear the hate…the _evil_…..in his voice."

Steve held her back so she could look at him, "Cassie, listen to me. I will _not_ let him hurt you. Do you understand? I will _not_ let anything happen to you. You'll be safe with me. I promise."

Cassie shook her head in agreement even though he could see the doubt and fear in her eyes.

Steve offered her what he hoped was an encouraging smile, "Come on. Let's go home." Then looking at the rest of his team, he continued, "Let me know if you find anything else out. Cassie and I are going back to my place."

To his surprise, Cassie didn't argue. She kept hold of his hand as he retrieved her USB drive from Kono and left the office to head home.

***********h50******************h50***********h50***************

The ride home was very quiet. Cassie was deep in thought and Steve didn't want to interrupt her. He stole a few glances at her beautifully pensive face and decided not to push her. At least for the moment.

His phone rang. Looking at the caller ID and seeing Joe's name, he answered on his truck's speaker phone. "Joe, what's up?"

"How's my girl?" Joe asked.

Steve stole a glance at Cassie who offered him a weak smile before answering for herself. "I'm fine, Daddy. We're headed back to Steve's house right now."

"Any new leads?" Joe pressed further.

"Possibly, but nothing concrete. I'll let you know when I have anything definite." Steve assured him.

"Okay. Well, I've been called to Washington unexpectedly, so I'm leaving on a flight in the next couple of hours. Cassie, baby, I'm so sorry. But you're in good hands with Steve….and I'll be in touch. Just do what he says and he'll keep you safe until I get back."

"I'm sorry, sir. Could you say that again?" Remarked Steve.

"Say _what _again?" asked Joe.

Steve looked over at Cassie with a teasing smile as he answered, "Tell her to 'do as I say' so I can protect her."

The look Cassie leveled at Steve was a cross between a glare and a smile, but then she heard her dad chuckle on the other end before asking her…..politely, "Sweetie, please don't give him any trouble. I would trust Steve with my life…..and I trust him with_ yours._ If you'll stick with him, he'll figure this out and keep you safe. Promise me that?"

Steve was moved by the confidence Joe had just expressed in him. Cassie's glance grew serious as she answered her dad. "I will, dad. I promise."

With that, they ended the call and headed towards the McGarrett house. But first, Cassie convinced Steve to stop at a grocery store so she could buy some food.

"Look, I know you're a bachelor and you're probably never home enough to cook, but I will have you know that I am a _great_ cook. I want to make dinner for you tonight."

Steve looked at her questioningly. "You want to make dinner for _me_? Why?"

Cassie offered him a smile that seemed to melt down every resolve he'd had about her in two seconds flat. Her bright eyes and dimples were a dangerous combination. "I want to cook for you because 1) We need to eat and take-out gets old, 2) I love to cook and haven't done it in over a week and 3) I owe you. After everything you're doing for me, the least I can do is cook you a meal….or two….or three."

Steve looked over at her and she felt her insides turn to Jello. "Okay. It's a deal," he answered. Cassie was struck once again by how handsome he really was. The crystal blue eyes, long eyelashes, perfect nose, chiseled jaw…..He looked so good, she almost forgot what he had just agreed to. _God help me, this man is sex on legs, _Cassie thought to herself. _I need to be careful. Really careful._

She smiled back at him as he pulled in to the grocery store parking lot and helped her out of the car to walk her inside.

They decided on steaks, baked potatoes, and grilled veggies. Cassie also bought a couple of additional things that she told Steve would be the "easiest dessert ever" before they made their way to the checkout and back to the truck to go home.

Upon arriving at Steve's house, Cassie made her way to the kitchen and immediately began preparing dinner. Steve tried to offer his help, but she answered by opening the fridge, handing him a beer, and telling him to go to the living room.

"I've got this, Commander. You need to relax. So go…..Turn on the tv and relax. I'll tell you when dinner is ready."

Unbelievably, Steve did as she asked and it wasn't long before Cassie had prepared a dinner worthy of any steakhouse on the island. Everything was seasoned and cooked to perfection. He wasn't usually one for dessert, but her "easiest dessert ever", little crescent pastries with peach pie filling inside, was too good to pass up. He ate every last morsel and wondered if he would ever have the pleasure of eating her cooking again. Yes, that was definitely something he could get use to

After helping Cassie with the dishes, they watched a little tv before heading to their separate bedrooms to sleep. It had been a long day and they were both exhausted.

*******h50********h50*****h50

Sometime later, Steve and Cassie were both awakened by sound of the security alarm going off. Steve bolted out of bed, grabbed the revolver he kept at his bedside, and made his way to the hall to head downstairs. He nearly ran in to Cassie as he was leaving his bedroom. She was holding a baseball bat in hand and walking towards the stairs as if she were on a mission.

Steve whispered as firmly as he could, "What are you doing?_** Get back**_ in the room!"

"I'm going with you!" she tried to shout-whisper back.

Steve couldn't believe it. Was she serious? "Like hell you are. Get back in there. **Now!** I mean it, Cassie!"

"I won't! You might need me!" she looked at him defiantly.

Knowing they were losing precious time in finding the person who had broken into the house, Steve reluctantly agreed as he rolled his eyes and pulled her so she was standing directly behind him. "Stay behind me, Cassie. I mean it!" And they made their way quietly downstairs.

The back door leading to the lanai was wide open where someone had entered the house, but no one was there now. Steve quickly ran outside to see if he could find anyone running away, but saw nothing. He cursed in frustration before heading back into the house and finding Cassie standing in the office waiting for him with the bat still in hand. She looked like she was ready to swing and Steve couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her standing there in a tank top, sleep shorts, bare feet, and baseball bat. He walked up to her and took the bat from her hands, "You can put that thing down now. The alarm must've scared them off. There is no one here now."

Cassie sighed in relief as Steve locked the doors back and reset the alarm. "Let's try to get some sleep." He said and started to go back upstairs with her following close behind. When they were standing right outside of Steve's bedroom, Steve heard her whisper, "Can I stay with you tonight?"

Steve looked at her as if not understanding her request at first. Feeling embarrassed, she stammered on, "I mean, I just want to _sleep_ with you." Her eyes got big realizing there could be a double meaning to what she had just said, "Not _sleep _with you sleep with you…..but literally sleep. Like _Snooze_. You know….." she took a deep breath, "I just don't want to be by myself. After this, I mean. I'm kinda freaked out."

Steve thought she looked tempting. Too tempting in fact, and even though he knew it could be a big mistake to let Cassie into his bed….no matter how innocently it started out…..he put his arm around her, kissed the top of her head, and led her into his room. "Of course you can stay with me. Come on."

Cassie crawled under the covers and turned towards the wall so her back was to Steve. Steve climbed in beside her. He vowed to try to sleep some more knowing it probably wasn't going to happen now that she was so close to him. After a few minutes, he could hear her soft, steady breathing telling him she was asleep again. He turned in her direction, moved the hair that had fallen over her cheek so he could study her beautiful, peaceful face in the moonlight as he whispered, "I could be in trouble with you, Cassie Grace." Through her sleepy haze, Cassie heard his soft words and felt her heart flip inside her chest. Then she felt his arm pull her closer to him before he fell asleep beside her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again. Thanks for all of the comments and reviews! I love reading your thoughts, so keep them coming. I'm glad you are enjoying this story. This chapter is all about fun and fantasy….and maybe setting us up for some fun in the near future between Steve and Cassie.**

********h50**************h50*******h50 **

Cassie woke the next morning to feel Steve's arm resting on her waist as he slept by her side. She was surprised at how good she'd slept considering the break-in the night before. Not to mention her close proximity to Steve all night. The man had more "sexy" in him than any man had a right to. The fact that he was oblivious to his sexiness made it even more disarming. Honestly, _how_ had she found the nerve to ask if she could sleep in his bed the night before? Yes, she had been shaken by the intruder, but she had never been so bold to do something like that before. She smiled recalling the way he had looked at her when she asked him if she could stay with him. His eyes had shown a definite hunger at her request before he had masked it and given her a "friendly" kiss on the head.

Listening to Steve's soft steady breathing, Cassie laid for a few moments and enjoyed the security she felt lying in his arms. A relationship between her and Steve McGarrett might be unlikely, but a girl could dream. Right?

Trying not to disturb him, she turned slightly so she could study his face. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping; Not at all like the serious persona he assumed by day of a no-nonsense task force Commander. This was the Steve she would like to see more of; Gorgeous, peaceful, and completely irresistible without a frown to dim his handsome features.

Of course, one reason she had probably seen so much of the "stern" side of him was her own fault since she admittedly hadn't made it easy for him thus far in the investigation. Cassie vowed to change that. He _was_ protecting her, after all, and the moments they had shared when they were not at one another's throats had been fun.

Her gaze moved from his eyes down to his mouth where his lips were softly parted in sleep. She licked her lips instinctively as her mind wandered to what it would be like to feel his lips on hers. Would his kiss be soft and gentle or hard and passionate? Maybe a combination of both? Truthfully, she would take either one as long as he was the one giving it to her. And while she was on the subject, she wouldn't mind him "giving her" something else either. She blushed at the thought and sighed as her eyes continued to travel southward to his massive shoulders and arms and across his chest to study his various tattoos. She was curious about the story behind each one. Maybe someday she could find out.

Continuing her downward trek of his body, she stared in awe as she looked at Steve's impressive abs. She had never seen a set of "six pack abs" in person. They were a thing of beauty, no doubt, and she fought the urge to reach out and caress him while he slept.

She allowed herself another moment to drink in his handsome features and felt something stirring in her heart. Falling for him would be a bad idea. Definitely a bad idea. But there was no denying the attraction she felt towards him. Judging by the way he had been flirting back with her, she wanted to believe the attraction was mutual.

Cassie slowly and reluctantly removed his arm from its place at her waist and sat up trying her best not to disturb him. Seeing that he didn't stir, she quietly made her way out of the bedroom to tiptoe downstairs and start some coffee to get the day started.

Steve awoke a little while later and was surprised at the disappointment he felt when he realized Cassie was no longer there. He got up quickly and walked downstairs to find her sitting on the couch staring at something on the coffee table. Upon closer inspection, he realized she was looking at a gun. Her gun, to be exact.

"Mornin', sunshine."

Cassie looked up to find him watching from the stairs. Her insides felt like goo seeing the just-woke-up sleepiness on his face. He had on only a pair of shorts and looked completely irresistible. It made her long to wake up to him every morning so she could see him like this before the stresses of the day were showing on his face.

"Good morning." She replied.

"What's going on?" he asked pointing to the .38 semi-automatic pistol on the table.

Cassie looked at it, took a deep breath, and looked up at him tentatively. "Will you teach me to shoot?"

Steve eyebrows shot up in surprise and he failed to hide the slight humor on his face at her request. "Will I teach you to _shoot?_" he repeated. Then realizing she was serious, he tried to wipe the smirk from his face. "Sorry. Okay….Uh…..where did this come from?" he asked as he moved to sit down beside her.

"Look, I know it's crazy for me to even own one of these and not know how to use it, but I _do_. And now that Wo Fat and God knows who else is apparently coming after me, I want to know that I can protect myself if I have to. I mean realistically you can't be with me 24/7." _As appealing as that prospect is_, Cassie thought to herself. She looked at Steve pleadingly. "Please?"

Looking at her big beautiful eyes, Steve found that he couldn't deny her even if he wanted to. Which he didn't. He actually thought it was a good idea for her to be able to use the gun if the occasion ever called for it. "Sure. I'll teach you." Then with a teasing smirk, he added, "I mean, it would be better to have you back me up with this thing rather than a baseball bat."

She playfully swatted at his arm as they both laughed. "Hey, cut me some slack, sailor. It was all I could find on such short notice."

Steve had a sparkle in his eyes as he looked at her. "We can actually go over to the range this morning, if you want. I'll call Danny and let him know we'll be a little late."

Cassie's grateful smile was all the reward he needed, but the fact that she threw her arms around his neck and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek was an added bonus. "Great!" she said excitedly. "I'll just go get a quick shower and I'll be ready to go!"

She quickly returned upstairs as Steve watched the tempting sway of her hips on the way. What was he getting himself into? Sure, he could have taken her to the shooting range and left her with any of the qualified instructors there, most of whom he knew, but Steve had to admit to himself that he was doing this because he didn't _want_ anyone else teaching her how to use a gun. No, he would feel more comfortable doing it himself. Danny might say it was because he was a control freak, which was probably true, but it was also because he didn't want any other guy getting close enough to her to show her how to properly load, hold, and fire the weapon. Thinking about being close enough to Cassie to shadow her body with his own started a number of unexpected fantasies in his mind. Shaking off those thoughts, he stood up to go into the kitchen for a quick breakfast before they had to leave.

He also called Danny to let him know their plans.

"You and Cassie are going to be_ late_?" Danny couldn't believe he'd heard correctly. Steve was never late. He was often _early_, but never _late_. "What's going on?"

"We'll be there in a couple of hours. Cassie asked me to take her to the range and show her how to use her gun, so we're going to stop by this morning on our way in."

"I see. So you and Cassie, huh?" Danny asked without even trying to hide what he was thinking.

Steve sighed, "Danny, it's not what you think. She owns a .38 and she has no idea how to use it. You and I both know that's not a good thing. I'm going to show her how to use it so she doesn't end up hurting herself."

Danny chuckled, " Oh okay. So you are telling me that you haven't noticed her beautiful eyes or gorgeous smile and hair...Not to mention her figure. I mean, have mercy. That woman can rock a pair of jeans and..."

Steve cut him off, "Yes, I've noticed, Danny. I'm not blind. But this isn't what you think. We're just friends."

"Yeah, whatever Steven. Look, I've seen the way you two look at each other. You're both trying to hide it, but I can see it. It's like the temperature rises about ten degrees whenever you're in a room together." When Steve didn't say anything, Danny added, "And don't tell me you haven't thought about what it's going to be like to hold Cassie as you are showing her how to _properly_ hold that gun. It's only a matter of time, buddy."

Steve smiled but would never admit to Danny that he was right. Truthfully, he had never experienced a stronger test of his willpower than to have Cassie in his bed last night with her cute backside up against him as she slept and the smell of her citrus shampoo invading his senses. He hadn't made a move on her, but it wasn't for lack of interest. He had wanted her. Bad. He only hoped she hadn't noticed how bad.

"Whatever, Danny." Steve tried to sound nonchalant with Danny knowing it wasn't going to work. "Like I said, we'll be in soon. Call me if anything comes up, okay?"

Steve could hear the smile in Danny's voice as he answered, "Take your time. I'll let you know if we need you."

As Steve ended the conversation with Danny, Cassie returned downstairs looking fresh and gorgeous in a pair of jeans, a tshirt, and boots. He fought the impulse to grab her and kiss her for what seemed like the hundredth time by turning around to get his keys from the counter. Turning back to her with a smile, he said "Alright, Annie Oakley. Let me change clothes and we'll go learn to shoot this gun." Her laugh was a beautiful sound which caused Steve's heart to tighten in his chest. He wanted to hear it more often. As often as possible actually.

*******h50**************h50*****************h50

Steve and Cassie drove to the shooting range frequented by the HPD. Steve signed them in and led Cassie to where she would have her first target practice.

Holding the .38 caliber handgun in his hand, he raised his eyebrows and smiled at Cassie. "So just to be clear, you bought a semi-automatic pistol and have no idea how to use it, right?" he asked her.

"Minor detail," she answered dismissively, "I figured I'd get around to it eventually."

Steve rolled his eyes in disbelief as he shook his head. "Okay. So we'll start from scratch."

He showed her how to load and unload the clip and had her practice a couple of times until she got it right. Then, he explained how it worked and emphasized the importance of making sure the safety was on when not in use. He showed her how to check the chamber when unloading the gun to make sure a round wasn't chambered to possibly fire without a clip being in the gun. Once he was confident she understood all the steps of gun safety, he moved on.

He grinned at her and wiggled his eyebrows playfully, "Now for the fun part."

Cassie stood tentatively in front of the shelf where Steve had placed her gun. The target was in front of them at the closest possible distance. She turned slightly around to look at Steve over her shoulder. "Seriously? Have you no faith in me at all?"

Steve's face was just inches from her own as he spoke softly, "Baby steps, Cassie. If you do well at this range, we'll move it further back next time. Okay?" His voice was low and seductive sending a shiver of pleasure through her body.

She could feel his breath on her neck. "Okay, sweetie. Here we go. You need to stand like this. " He turned her back around and reached around to put his big hand on one of her thighs to move her legs a little farther apart. The move was intended to give her more stable footing while firing the weapon, but there was nothing stable in her footing at the moment. She was actually quite impressed that she was able to stand at all.

Steve picked up the pistol and put it into her right hand. Then, he took her left hand and held both of her hands in his own as he showed her how to aim at the target ahead. Cassie felt like she was glued to Steve: His chest was up against her back, his arms were parallel to hers cradling the gun, his legs were right up against her ….and all of the other important parts were too close in proximity for comfort. She swallowed hard as she felt his body in line with hers. Years of training and conditioning had given him nothing but muscle and strength and Cassie found it nearly impossible to concentrate as she ached to touch, taste, and explore the body she had admired this morning while he'd slept. Feeling incredibly turned on by having practically every inch of him against her, she fought to keep her breath steady and focus on the task at hand.

She held her breath and tried to focus as he continued, " Hold it like this." He moved his hands with hers so she had it secure and in position. "Always hold it firmly with both hands because it's going to recoil on you somewhat. Okay?"

"Hold it firmly. Got it." she squeaked out causing Steve to smile at the thoughts obviously in her mind right now.

"Point at your target." He positioned it for her. "And fire." He pulled the trigger. "And fire." he pulled the trigger again.

Then he stood up straighter, put the gun back onto the shelf, and released Cassie's hands.

"That's all there is to it." Steve had a little half smile on his lips that melted her insides and made her feel weak in the knees.

_Who am I kidding? Nearly anything he does makes me weak in the knees. What is wrong with me? _

As Cassie turned to face him, Steve noticed her breathlessness and instinctively knew it wasn't from to firing the weapon. His body had responded to holding her so closely too. He was more than a little uncomfortable at the moment, in fact. Her racing pulse and rapid breathing told him she was feeling the same pull of attraction that was undeniably between them.

"Wanna try some more?" he asked her.

Cassie took a deep breath to calm herself and refocus, "Yeah, I'll try." Steve watched as she did exactly as he had shown her and fired a couple of rounds towards the target. Steve was standing at her back as he flipped the switch to retract the target sheet to see where the shots had landed. He put one arm on her shoulder as he reached the other arm forward to point at the shot marks. Her skin tingled at his touch.

"Not bad for your first time." Steve smiled at her proudly. "Let me move it out further and you can try one more time. Okay?"

Looking up into his blue eyes, Cassie could only smile and nod her head in agreement. Glancing at his mouth for a brief second, Cassie unconsciously licked her lower lip causing Steve's resolve to fall away completely. He muttered a curse to himself and simply couldn't resist the urge any longer. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers before he could talk himself out of it again. He had to have a taste. Just one taste of her sweet and sassy mouth would do him for now. Or so he thought. For a moment, he thought she might pull away, but when he felt her open to him, he deepened the kiss for a few seconds more before reluctantly pulling away.

_Just as sweet as I thought. _Steve wanted more. A lot more. But being in a public place….surrounded by police officers…he knew they would need to pick up another time.

Her eyes had darkened mirroring his own, "Hold that thought, Cassie Grace. We'll pick up where we left off later."

Finding her voice again, she barely whispered, "Promise?"

"You can count on it." And if he had his way, there would be _much _more to come.

_Dear God, the man can kiss_, Cassie thought to herself as she turned back towards the target and tried to refocus. _If he can do that to me with a simple kiss, what else could he do to me?_ The thought made her shiver in anticipation.

Maybe some fun with Steve McGarrett wasn't as farfetched as she thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Steve and Cassie made their way back to Steve's truck to head in to HQ. Cassie's lips still tingled from the kiss Steve had given to her. Even though it had been short, it had arguably been one of the best kisses of her life; full of passion and strength and unmistakable hunger. She instinctively touched her lips, _My God, the man can kiss like a dream! _He left her wanting more. So much more. One kiss was definitely not enough to quench the thirst she had for Steve McGarrett.

Steve's thoughts were mirroring her own. She had tasted just as sweet as he'd imagined. Not being able to resist being that close to her without touching her any longer, he had acted completely on impulse when he had pulled her in for a kiss. But now he felt conflicted. She was Joe's daughter which put a different spin on things. How would Joe feel if he knew the kinds of thoughts Steve had been having regarding his one and only child? True, they weren't kids, but a father never lost his protective feelings towards his daughter no matter how old she was.

_Hell, I feel that way about Mary and she's my __**sister**__._

Honestly, Steve hadn't felt this kind of connection with anyone in a long time and he certainly wanted to explore things more with Cassie, but he knew he was going to have to tread carefully. There was too much at stake.

There was also the more pressing issue currently facing them of solving Cutler's murder and protecting Cassie from whomever wanted to kill her for getting too close. How could he protect her if his head was scrambled over the attraction he felt towards her? _Pull it together, man!_ He scolded himself.

After a few minutes of driving in silence, Steve stole a glance in Cassie's direction and found her watching him. Noticing the way his brows were furrowed together, she fought the urge to reach over and run a finger across his forehead to make the "worry lines" go away.

She looked at him quizzically. "Something on your mind?"

He paused for a moment before answering her. "About that kiss….." he began.

Cassie interrupted him, "Amazing, huh? I mean…..Wow!" Her eyes were bright, her cheeks were flushed, and as Steve looked her direction again, she had never looked more beautiful….or tempting.

Steve let out a nervous laugh, "Yeah….it was. It was amazing. But…"

"No 'buts', Sailor. I'm not going to let you second guess this. Let's just enjoy the moment and not overthink it. Okay?"

"I don't know if I can do that, Cassie. I mean, I've known your dad forever. Joe is family to me…..I would never do anything to hurt him or the relationship I have with him. I respect him too much for that. And I can't stop thinking about what he's going to think of this."

Cassie's gaze softened a little. Leave it to Steve to want to be honorable to a fault rather than letting himself go and just enjoying the moment they were in.

Cassie turned towards him with undisguised interest in her eyes. "Don't let yourself regret what just happened. I _don't_." She answered matter-of-factly. "Besides…..you _promised _me."

"Promised you what?"

"You promised that we'd pick up where we left off. I'm holding you to that. And if you _don't_ pick up where we left off, I _will_."

Steve let out a nervous laugh. "Cassie, I'm not going to deny that I enjoyed what happened back there. But this could get….._complicated._"

"That's BS and you know it." She looked at him now with fire in her eyes. "Look, you've been friends with my dad for a long time and even _lived_ with him for a while as a kid. He loves you. Why would you think he would disapprove of us getting together? I mean….not that we're 'together'…..but you know what I mean."

When Steve didn't answer right away, she continued, "I understand how you could be _conflicted _about the situation we've found ourselves in, but I'm not letting this go. Got that?"

_Damn, she's cute when she gets riled up, _Steve thought to himself. His eyes were on the road, but a smirk was on his face, so Cassie continued.

"We have _chemistry_. You know it….and I know it."

Steve stole another sideways glance at her. "I agree with you, but…"

"But _what?_ That kiss was pretty friggin' incredible." Cassie was feeling bold, not to mention still turned on. "I'd love to find out what other 'talents' you might have. I may even have some of my own, you know."

Steve had to concentrate very hard to keep the truck on the road after that comment. He turned his eyes away for just a moment to give her a look that left no doubt she had him conjuring up fantasies. "Don't tempt me, young lady." Cassie just smiled at him naughtily nearly making him come undone. Funny that the things he had found irritating in her when they first met…..her spunk and sass…..were now the things that were turning her into a temptress he was finding it very hard to resist.

Cassie wasn't fairing much better. The look Steve was giving her made her thankful she was sitting down because she doubted she could stand up under the heat she saw in his eyes. After the brief taste she'd had of him, she wanted more, so she decided to kick the teasing up a notch. "I could make this a very hard day for you, Commander."

He raised his eyebrows at her comment as she elaborated further, "The sooner we get back to your place, the better. SO, if you insist on working all day, I could make it difficult for you to make a full work day out of it. Just sayin'…"

He offered her the little sideways smile she was growing so fond of. It made him look sexy as sin. God, the man was beautiful.

As he made his way into the HQ parking lot, he put the truck in park and turned towards her. "Alright. I'll make you a deal. Let me get in a few hours of work to try to get a lead on the guy who's trying to _kill_ you…and I promise to make it worth your while."

Cassie's jaw dropped just slightly and Steve was humored by the fact that he had made her speechless for a change. He made his way around to her side of the truck to open the door for her. _Always the gentleman,_ she thought to herself as she took his hand to step out.

"So, you think you can make it worth my while?" she looked up at him.

"Oh I _know _I can." He said confidently as he leaned down to plant another quick kiss on that sassy mouth of hers. She kept him on his toes, that was for sure. The fire she stirred in him was something he hadn't felt for a very long time and he found he liked it. Very much.

*******************h50********h50*********h50

Danny saw Steve and Cassie coming back so he walked out of his office to greet them.

"So how was the shooting range?" he asked without even trying to hide his smirk or the double meaning in his question.

Steve, however, was all business. "It was good. Cassie did great. She's a really fast learner."

Cassie beamed up at Steve, "No, Steve's just a great teacher."

Danny noticed the sparks between them even though Steve was trying to play it cool. He had known Super SEAL too long not to be able to read him pretty well by now.

He shook his head in agreement. "Uh huh…..I'll just bet he is."

Feeling a little uncomfortable about where the conversation could be going, Steve cleared his throat and changed the subject, "So, do we have any new leads?"

Chin came out of his office at that moment and started walking towards the smart table. "I was just about to call you. Fong was able to clean up one of the images on Cassie's computer, so we may be able to get a lead on the person seen in Cutler's room the night he was murdered." They all walked over to the table as Chin pulled the picture up on the screen.

"Dylan." It was barely a whisper on her lips as she said it. Steve, Chin, and Danny all turned in her direction.

"You know him?" asked Danny.

Cassie continued to stare at the screen lost in her own thoughts. Steve reached out to touch her arm and get her attention, "Cassie. Do you know him?"

Cassie shook her head. "Yeah. Sorry. Uh…..His name is Dylan Roberts. He's a…..partner…. in the firm…where Marcus worked." She seemed nervous and Steve wondered why as she continued, "Actually, his dad and uncle are the ones who started the firm, so Dylan is sort of the 'heir to the throne', so to speak. They're grooming him to take over someday."

The three men looked back to the picture with renewed interest and focus.

"So what motive could he have to kill Cutler?" Danny asked.

Cassie still looked distracted. "I don't know." Then looking at the three men, "Could you excuse me please? I need to go to the ladies room." Not waiting for an answer, she turned and walked away.

None of them had missed the look of fear in her eyes when she'd recognized Dylan Roberts, but rather than going after her to find out more, they turned their attention back to the picture of the man who had just become their number one suspect.

"Okay. Dig up anything you can on Dylan Roberts. Danny, get us some background….Anything you can find on him, we need to know. Chin, find out if he's still on the island. If he's here, we need to pick him up for questioning asap. I'm going to call Max and see if he's come up with a definite cause of death." Steve directed.

When Cassie hadn't returned after a few minutes, Steve decided to check on her. He knocked on the door. "Cassie. You okay?" When he didn't hear a response, he cracked the door a little, "Cassie?"

"I'm fine. Just give me a minute, okay?"

By the sound of her voice, she most certainly was _not_ okay. Steve could hear it even before he heard her sniffle. Not caring that she was in the women's bathroom, he opened the door and walked in to find her leaning over the sink splashing her face with water, no doubt in an attempt to hide evidence of tears.

His voice was gentle as he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey….what's wrong?"

He watched as she squared her shoulders to stand up straighter, put her chin up and looked at him through the mirror. The strength was back in her voice and her face showed no trace of the turmoil he'd heard only seconds earlier. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Steve wasn't fooled. "You're lying to me."

He could practically see the battle she was waging inside between wanting to tell him what had shaken her but refusing to do so. He decided to let it go for the moment. He offered her a small smile.

"I'll let it go for now. But we're going to talk about it later. Okay?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

Steve turned her around so she had to look at him. "You're a bad liar, Cassie." The look he gave her was sexy and infuriating at the same time.

"And you're demanding." She shot back although her voice held more defeat in it than the spunk she normally had when they verbally sparred. Steve let out a small laugh as he put an arm around her to lead her back out to the main office. "Come on, let's go to my office. I want to know everything you know about Dylan Roberts."

_That's the problem, _Cassie thought nervously to herself. _I don't want to talk about Dylan Roberts. _

***************************h50*********************h50*******************h50

Steve led Cassie into his office and sat down beside her on the couch.

"Okay, so what can you tell me about him besides the fact that he is a partner in the firm where Cutler worked?"

"That's it. His dad and uncle started the firm and grew it into a powerhouse over the last thirty years. They are one of the most sought after criminal defense firms in the state. Dylan is the 'wonder boy' they are grooming to take over when they are ready to retire."

Steve didn't miss the venom that seemed to be in her voice as she'd referred to him as a 'wonder boy'.

"So, can you think of any reason he would want to kill Marcus?"

Cassie shook her head. "I have no idea. As far as I knew, they were friends. I mean…" she cut herself off realizing she'd almost said too much, but it was too late. Steve picked up on her avoidance and pushed her further.

"What? What were you going to say?"

Knowing he wasn't going to let it go, Cassie took a deep breath, "Marcus and Megan fixed me up with him one time. I don't normally do the whole 'blind date' thing, but I trusted Megan's instincts so I let them fix us up."

"So you dated him?"

"Not technically. We only went out a couple of times. It just didn't work out." Cassie looked down at her hands.

"Why do I get the feeling you aren't telling me everything?" Steve's gut was rarely wrong and there was definitely something going on with Cassie's body language. She had crossed her arms in front of her chest; a sign of her feeling vulnerable. She had also moved away from him on the couch. It had been a slight movement away, but he had still picked up on it as another sign of her feeling vulnerable and trying to close him out. He had no doubt she was feeling nervous about where the conversation was heading.

Cassie looked up at Steve and noticed the determination in his eyes to get the whole story out of her. His eyes were also full of compassion that she found it utterly impossible to fight the urge to tell him…even though she knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

She finally relented. "Okay fine. But please promise me that you will not freak out."

Steve's eyes grew serious. "I can't promise that, Cassie." She was hiding something. "What did he do to you?"


	9. Chapter 9

Steve sensed that Cassie needed a minute, so he gave it to her even though his curiosity was peaked. And not in a good way.

She took a deep breath and looked at him with so much hurt in her eyes that he vowed to himself in that moment to kill Dylan Roberts if he had been the one to put that hurt…..that fear…..that doubt… into her beautiful eyes.

"Dylan and I went out a couple of times. And it was _nice_. He seemed like a really sweet guy. He took me to great restaurants, sent me flowers, called to check in with me during the day. He did everything _right_. I had no reason to doubt him because I trusted Megan's instincts and she liked him too. Besides, he also worked with Marcus. Since they both vouched for him being a standup guy, I believed I could trust him."

Steve held her gaze in his own. "But you found out you couldn't." It was a statement, not a question, as Steve felt his instincts warning him the details were not going to be pretty.

"No….I couldn't." Cassie took a lock of hair into her fingers and started twisting it. The nervous habit that Steve normally found so endearing brought pain to him now. Feeling an overwhelming need to comfort her, he took her free hand into his own.

Cassie looked up at Steve and willed herself to continue. "After we'd gone out a couple of times, Dylan invited me over to his house. He said he wanted to make me dinner. Since we had already been out before and had a good time, I said I would go. I thought it was incredibly sweet and _romantic_ that he would want to make dinner for me. The 'red flags' I normally would've felt towards someone else didn't seem to matter this time."

Steve tried to keep his emotions in check as Cassie continued with her story. _Please don't let this lead where I think it is going,_ Steve thought to himself as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

"When I got to his house, he already had dinner started: Steaks on the grill….Baked potatoes in the oven…and he was cutting up veggies for a salad. I was…..impressed. " Cassie smiled sadly. "He poured me a glass of wine. Among the many investment his family has, they also own a winery so it was a bottle from their personal collection. I drank the wine and we talked as he made dinner…" Her voice trailed off and he could see her trying to keep her emotions in check and her tears at bay so she could continue the story.

Steve gave her hand a little squeeze and said gently, "What did he do to you, Cassie?"

"That's just it." She choked back a sob before it escaped, took a deep breath, and continued. "I don't _know_ what he did_. _The next thing I knew, I was waking up in his bed. Naked. And I had _**no**_ idea what had happened or how I got there."

Steve couldn't hide his fury. Letting go of Cassie, he stood up and started to pace in anger. "Son of a bitch!"

"I remember him kissing me," Cassie continued, her voice full of pain and regret, "I remember him caressing me. Asking me to take off my clothes. When I didn't comply, _he_ started removing my clothes. It was the oddest feeling….as if I was watching what was going on but was powerless to stop it. My head felt fuzzy. The next thing I remember, I was waking up naked in his bed as he got out of bed and asked me to take a shower with him."

Steve couldn't believe the _**balls**_ of a guy who would drug a woman, take advantage of her, rape her, and _then_ ask her to take a damn shower.

"I swear to God, when we get him in custody, I'm going to make him regret he ever touched you." Steve mumbled to himself even though Cassie heard every word.

Cassie stood up and walked to put a hand on his arm and calm him down. "It's okay. Steve, it's been a couple of years. It's over now." She insisted.

"Tell me that you filed charges." Steve looked down at her.

Cassie turned her back on Steve. When she spoke again, her voice was so soft, he could barely hear her, "There was no point. It was his word against mine."

Steve couldn't believe his ears. What had happened to the Cassie who was normally a spitfire and more than ready to go toe-to-toe with anyone who tangled with her? Where was the Cassie who was up front and 'in your face'? Had she seriously just let it go and not pressed charges against him?

"Please tell me you aren't serious! Cassie…why wouldn't you make him pay for what he did to you?"

Cassie's eyes pleaded with him to understand. "Because his family would have _bought_ him out of it, Steve. I had _no_ bruises, _no_ evidence of a 'forced' sexual assault. He could easily say I had consented. When I asked him what happened, he made it sound like I'd drank a little too much wine and was tipsy but insisted that I had wanted it too. I had no reason to think otherwise. Then, as I thought about it later, I realized that couldn't be true. I don't remember drinking enough to make me drunk, and the way I felt was way more than just a hangover, so I knew it _had_ to be something else. I knew he'd given me something."

"Did you tell anyone?" Steve asked.

"Only Megan. And I made her promise not to tell anyone. She's the only one who knows what happened."

"She should have _broken _that promise!" Steve's voice rose louder than he intended, but the thought of someone hurting Cassie had him fighting to keep his emotions under control. He looked back at Cassie who suddenly looked defeated and ashamed. Feeling guilty, Steve immediately went to pull her into his embrace as his voice softened again. "Hey, I'm sorry. This isn't your fault. I promise I'm going to make him pay. One way or another." Steve paused for a second before looking down at her, "We have to tell Joe."

"No! Steve, please don't tell him. _Please. _There is no reason for him to know what happened. He would only want revenge."

"Yeah, that's kinda the point. And let me say that I totally understand that feeling." Steve reasoned.

"Look. It's bad enough that _you_ know. I didn't ever want anyone to know about this. But now you _do_ and there is nothing I can do about that. If Dylan is responsible for Marcus' murder, I'm sure he'll get his justice. What happened between the two of us doesn't need to be brought up and my dad doesn't need to know about it. Promise me."

"I can't guarantee he won't find out, Cassie. And I don't like keeping something like this from him, but I promise I won't be the one to bring it up. Okay?"

Cassie knew better than to protest. She had seen the determined look on Steve's face. She decided not to push it and just hope that she didn't have to rehash what had happened between her and Dylan Roberts. Right now, the important thing was solving Marcus' murder and getting her safe again.

Danny chose that moment to open the door to Steve's office. Noticing Steve holding Cassie, he asked, "Everything okay?"

Steve didn't let go as he answered, "Everything's fine. Did you find something out?"

"We know where Roberts is staying and Chin called the hotel to verify that he hasn't checked out yet. We've already alerted TSA so he won't be able to board a flight home. If we're lucky, we'll catch him before he leaves the hotel."

Steve felt Cassie stiffen in his arms. Looking down at her, he offered her an encouraging smile. "It's going to be okay. You trust me, right?"

Cassie shook her head but didn't look comforted. Not caring that Danny was watching every move he made with Cassie, Steve touched her cheek. "I'm not going to let him hurt you again. I promise." He leaned down and kissed her before looking at Danny, "Let's go."

****************h50*****************h50******************h50

Steve and Danny left to go to the hotel and hopefully catch up with Dylan Roberts before he tried to make his way off the island. Walking to the car, Danny's curiosity got the best of him.

"So what happened back there with Cassie?"

Steve knew it was coming. He was actually impressed that Danny had managed to wait until they were outside before he brought it up.

"She has a history with Roberts."

"What kind of history?" Danny asked.

"Megan and Marcus fixed them up when they were still married. They went out a couple of times."

"But…?" Danny pressed him to continue. He knew there was more to the story. Not only because Cassie had looked completely shaken when he had opened Steve's office door, but also because Steve looked to be wound pretty tight at the moment. As if he wanted to punch something. Anything. Not to mention the muscle on the side of his jaw was twitching.

Steve took a deep breath as he unlocked the car and looked at Danny, "But…he apparently drugged her and raped her."

Danny looked just as furious as Steve. "Come again?"

"He got her over to his house, drugged her, raped her, and when she woke up later and realized she was naked in his bed, the son of a bitch had the balls to ask her if she wanted to take a shower with him. As if nothing had happened."

Danny couldn't believe it. "So did she file charges?"

"No. And that's what I don't understand. It doesn't seem like the Cassie we know….even though we just met her. She doesn't seem the type to back down from a fight." Steve gripped the steering wheel as he and Danny got into the car and prepared to go.

"What did she say about it?"

"She said his family would've 'bought him out of it' and she had no proof that it wasn't consensual, so she just let it go."

Danny was speechless for a change. He didn't know what to say. "Does Joe know about this?"

The look on Steve's face told Danny all he needed to know. He looked conflicted…..as if he was torn between being there for Cassie but still staying loyal to the man who had had a part in raising him into the man he'd become. "No. Joe doesn't know. And she made me promise not to tell him." He looked over at Danny, "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to make him pay for what he did to her."

Danny shook his head in agreement. "Okay, so let's find this SOB and put the fear of God into him. Maybe we'll also get lucky and solve our murder."


	10. Chapter 10

With all of the Five-0 members gone, Cassie grew bored quickly. It was so quiet without any of them there. Cassie checked her email, browsed the internet, even played a game or two of solitaire. She had never been one to sit still for very long and the suspense of wondering whether or not they were having luck finding Dylan was driving her crazy. She decided to break the monotony and go find a cup of coffee. She had promised Steve she wouldn't leave the office, but surely it would be okay if she just walked downstairs. She would still be in the same _building_….just not in the office. She made her way downstairs looking for the vending machines she had seen earlier. Then she remembered seeing one of those sidewalk vendors outside who sold gourmet coffee. Mmmm…..That would hit the spot. Of course it meant she would have to leave the building, but she rationalized that it was right outside the doors. She could be right back in before anyone knew she was gone.

She stepped out into the warm morning sun and made her way to the coffee truck. She ordered her favorite, a salted caramel macchiato, and waited on the young woman, named Robin, to prepare it. It was such a beautiful day that it was a shame to stay indoors. Maybe she could talk Steve into having dinner on the beach somewhere later.

She started to pull out her money to pay for the coffee when a hand reached around her to give money to Robin instead. "Please, allow me." The voice sounded familiar and Cassie felt the color drain from her face. She turned and looked into the face of Dylan Roberts. His face looked eerily calm but there was no warmth in his eyes at all as he spoke. "I think you and I need to talk."

Cassie started to protest, but Dylan turned slightly so the woman at the coffee truck couldn't see him as he opened his suit jacket enough to show a gun holstered at his side. "Don't make me cause a scene, Cassie."

Cassie knew that she needed to do something, so she tried to keep Dylan talking for a few minutes.

"They are out looking for you, Dylan."

"I know they are, but they'll be on a bit of a wild goose chase for a while. By the time they get back here, you will be with me."

He took a firm grip on Cassie's elbow and started leading her away trying to act nonchalant. Cassie called over her shoulder, "Thanks for the coffee, Jenny. See you tomorrow." Dylan didn't notice the woman look at her curiously as they walked away.

****************h50*******h50*******h50

Steve was calling Cassie's phone and not getting an answer.

"Something's wrong. Why isn't she answering, Danny?" he asked frustrated.

"Would you calm down? I don't know. Maybe she went to the ladies room. She is allowed to pee, right?"

Steve didn't appreciate the sarcasm. "I'm telling you. Something is wrong. We have no idea where Roberts is at and now Cassie isn't answering her phone."

"You don't honestly think he would be bold enough to go into our office and look for her. He may be a first class schmuck, but I don't think he'd be that stupid."

They pulled into a parking spot at HQ and Steve was getting out of the car at nearly the same moment he put the car in "park". He and Danny practically ran up the steps to their offices. Steve swung open the door and immediately started calling for her. There was no answer. He kept trying as he walked towards his office and Danny went to check the others. Cassie was nowhere to be found.

When Steve came back out of his office, the look on his face was one of frustration and uncertainty. He had Cassie's phone in his hand. She never went anywhere without her phone.

Danny was trying not to panic either. "See? She never leaves her phone, so she can't be far. Maybe she went downstairs to get a drink?"

The two made their way downstairs…..but still no Cassie.

Steve was really starting to worry now. They stepped outside hoping to see her even though they knew it was a long-shot.

"Commander McGarrett?" Steve heard someone call him. Looking around, he saw it was Robin at the coffee truck. Steve and Danny made their way over to her. "Commander, are you looking for the young woman who came in with you earlier?"

"Yeah. Do you know where she is?"

"She came out to get coffee earlier. A man came up behind her and paid for her drink. I heard him say they had something to talk about before he led her away. Then, before she left, she called me 'Jenny' and said she would see me tomorrow. It was weird."

"What did the man look like?" asked Danny.

"He was tall with dark hair. Very handsome. Probably in his early to mid 30's and wearing a very expensive suit. He also had a Rolex watch." Danny held up his cell phone with a picture of Dylan Roberts. "Is this the man she was with?"

"Yes, that's him. I think she called him Dylan."

"Dammit!" Steve cursed.

"Is she in trouble?" Robing asked looking concerned.

"Probably so." Danny face was grim as he answered.

"That's probably why she called you by the wrong name." Steve said. "She wanted you to remember the conversation so you would be more likely to remember details about who she was with."

Danny was impressed. "Smart girl."

"Robin, did you see what he was driving?" Steve asked.

Robin gave them the description of the car she had seen Dylan and Cassie leave in and surprised them by also remembering the rental car company whose sticker had been placed on the back of the car.

"Thanks, Robin. You've been a big help." Steve thanked her. "Danny, we need to find that car!"

As if on cue, Chin pulled back into the parking lot and the three men made their way back up to the offices. They called the rental company and found the license number for the car Roberts had rented. Even better, they were also told that all of the rental vehicles were equipped with GPS. With Chin's expertise, they were quickly able to pull up the car's location. Dylan had apparently moved to a smaller hotel. Steve called Kono as she was leaving Max's office to fill her in on what had happened. He gave her the location where Dylan and Cassie might be and told her to meet them there. He gave her orders not to proceed until he and Danny got there. She was not to go in alone. After giving instructions to Kono, Steve and Danny sprinted out to the Camaro while Chin stayed behind to keep a lock on the car and let them know if it moved.

Kono got there first and went into the hotel office to see if she could find out what room number they were in. She got lucky by showing a picture of Dylan to the woman at the front desk. "Oh yes, that is Mr. Matthews. He and his wife just checked in. He said they're on their honeymoon. But, I'm sorry, miss. I cannot give you their room number for privacy reasons. You understand?" Kono smiled kindly at the woman before showing her badge. Seeing that Kono was with Five-0, the woman's face grew concerned. "Oh my dear. Are they in some sort of trouble?"

"The woman who is with him is not his wife and could be in trouble. You need to tell me where I can find them." Without further hesitation, she gave the room number to Kono. She walked back out to her car just as Steve and Danny pulled into the parking lot.

*************h50**************h50********H50

_Meanwhile with Cassie and Dylan…._

Cassie was furious and scared at the same time. Dylan had taken her to a hotel and checked them in under an assumed name. Since she had been stupid enough to go outside for her coffee without her phone, she had no way to contact Steve and let him know where she was. Unless she could somehow manage to get Dylan's phone, but that was risky. He had kept her under a tight hold since picking her up and she hadn't been able to get a free moment to do anything. When he had put her into the car, he had put zip ties around her wrists and ankles which basically stopped her from doing anything at all besides sit there beside him. He had checked into the hotel while she waited in the car and she had no way of escaping. Once they got to their room, he had removed the tie from her ankles so she could walk into the room, but the one on her wrists stayed in place. She was getting scared and didn't know what to do.

"Dylan, why am I here?" she asked with a bravery in her voice she did not feel.

Dylan was raiding the little hotel bar inside the room and pouring himself a shot of bourbon. He offered one to her which she blatantly refused. He offered her a wicked smile. "Oh that's right. You prefer wine, don't you?"

Trying to ignore the disgust rising up in her stomach, she tried again. "You didn't answer my question. Why am I here?"

"You are here, Cassie, because you don't know how to keep your nose out of things."

"Well, that sort of comes with the territory of being an investigative reporter." She spat.

He laughed but there was no humor in the sound. Downing his drink, he turned towards her with a look she had never seen before in his eyes. It was dark, foreboding, and filled with evil. "I always did admire your spunk. It's one of the things about you that turned me on. However….You went too far this time. Following Marcus all the way to Hawaii was a mistake an now you know things you shouldn't know. You have something that I want and I'm not letting you go until I have it."

"And what would that be?"

"Evidence of what happened to Marcus Cutler. I want it and you're going to give it to me." He started to approach her with a look of pure evil on his face. "But not before I have a little fun with you first. I remember having a lot of fun with you the last time we were together. Remember that?" He let out another humorless laugh.

Cassie swallowed. What the hell was she going to do? She couldn't believe this was happening to her again. Dylan approached her and pushed her down so she was lying on the bed. Her hands were still tied and were basically useless to her at the moment. If she could just position her legs or her knees to kick him…..

He seemed to read her mind, so he flipped her over on her stomach and straddled himself on top of her where she couldn't move. Before she knew what had happened, he had yanked her tank top over her head and threw it to the floor. Then, she heard him take off his belt and unzip his pants before quickly flipping her back over with his hands firmly gripping each of her thighs. He leaned down so he was close enough that she could smell the bourbon on his breath. "Lie still, sweet Cassie. Remember how you enjoyed this the last time."

This can't be happening!

There was a loud banging on the door.

"FIVE-0, OPEN THE DOOR!"

Cassie wanted to cry with relief. It was Steve! Somehow he had found her!

Dylan cursed loudly before zipping his pants back up and reaching for the gun he had on the table.

"Dylan Roberts. This is Commander Steve McGarrett with Five-0. You have two seconds to open this door or we're coming in!"

Dylan grabbed Cassie by her hair and yanked her up. Steve heard her muffled cry through the door and it was all he could do to stand down and not go in to save her.

"Not a chance, Commander McGarrett. If you come through that door, I shoot the girl!"

Steve looked at Danny. What did they do now? Steve looked to Kono and whispered for her to call Grover to get a SWAT Team on site as soon as possible.

"You need to come out while you have a chance, Roberts. This isn't going to end well for you either way." Steve yelled.

"Think again, Commander. I've been watching you and I know you have a thing for Cassie. Believe me, I totally understand that. She has a mouth on her, but she _is_ a _sweet_ little piece of ass."

"Son of a bitch." Steve whispered as he looked at Danny. "I swear to God, I'm going to kill him when I get in that room."

Danny didn't blame him. For once, he was in total agreement. If anyone ever deserved to have their ass kicked by Super SEAL, it was Dylan Roberts. Danny just prayed they would all get out of this alive.

"You totally have my blessing, buddy. In fact, I'll bring the popcorn so we can all watch the show."


	11. Chapter 11

Steve's mind was reeling. How were they going to get Cassie out of there? More importantly, how was he going to get his hands on Roberts without hurting Cassie in the process? He decided to make his way to the back of the hotel to see if the rooms had balconies. If so, he might be able to make his way up and surprise them from behind. He told Danny what he was going to do and quickly left to make his way to the other side.

Cassie and Dylan were staying on the third floor. After surveying the outlay of the rooms, Steve determined it would be an easy climb for him. Quickly and quietly, he made his way up to slip onto the balcony outside of their room. He peeked into the window and saw that Dylan and Cassie were both facing the door going to the outside of the room, so their backs were turned to him. Looking at the sliding glass door leading to the balcony, he couldn't believe his luck. Roberts obviously had not expected to be found so quickly because the sliding glass door was open giving Steve easy access into the room. He went in as quietly as possible until he was standing right behind them both.

"Let her go, Roberts." Steve voice came out in a low growl.

Caught entirely by surprise, Dylan whirled around with Cassie still in his grasp to face Steve. Steve quickly took in Cassie's appearance. She was only wearing her bra and jeans, but he was relieved to see she didn't seem to have any physical injuries at the moment. Since she was also still partially dressed, it appeared as if they had arrived before Roberts was able to sexually assault her again. She looked scared, but otherwise okay.

Steve gave her what he hoped was an encouraging look. "Cassie, everything is going to be okay. I'll have you out of here soon." He winked at her causing her to feel warm inside and enraging Dylan even more. He tightened his grip on her making her wince in pain. Steve turned his attention back to Dylan with nothing but vengeance showing in his eyes again. "Let her go, Roberts! Then, you and I can handle this like _men_."

Dylan laughed sarcastically, "What do you think I am? Stupid?"

Steve kept his gun leveled at Dylan's head. "Yeah, you're definitely stupid." Steve answered. "You aren't much of a _man_ either, so I guess this is going to be an unfair fight. You were _right _about one thing though."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Dylan sneered at him.

"I do have a 'thing' for Cassie and I'm going to make you regret you ever laid a hand on her."

Cassie suddenly felt braver than she had all day. Steve noticed a fire return to her eyes. She tried to figure out what she could do to get away. Her hands may still be bound, but she sure as heck could use her feet. She picked one of her feet up and stomped down on Dylan's foot as hard as she could. Dylan screamed in pain and pushed her away with such force that she fell into a side table. Hitting the table with her head temporarily knocked her out. Steve seized the moment and lunged towards Dylan knocking him to the ground before the man even had time to process what was happening. He easily wrestled the gun out of Dylan's hands and began punching him with all his might. Dylan made a couple of futile attempts to defend himself but quickly discovered he was no match for Steve McGarrett….or his rage.

Hearing the commotion inside, Danny kicked open the door and charged in with Kono close behind. Kono immediately went over to check on Cassie while Danny allowed Steve to get a few more punches in before trying to pull him off of Dylan. Danny knew If he didn't get Steve off of Dylan soon, he might actually kill the guy. He grabbed Steve's shoulders. "Enough, Steve. Get him up!"

"Don't you ever touch her again, you sorry son of a bitch! Do you understand me?!" Steve screamed between punches. He was so full of rage after coming in to find Cassie half-dressed that he didn't respond right away when Danny told him to stop. It wasn't until Danny yelled a more insistent, "Steve! Let him UP!" that he stopped and quickly got up leaving a bloody Dylan lying on the floor. Danny got busy getting Dylan up off the floor so he could cuff him while Steve made his way to Cassie who was still unconscious on the floor.

"Paramedics are on their way." Kono relayed to him.

Steve leaned down to cut the zip tie from her hands before cradling her head in his hand. Her wrists were already showing lacerations from the way she had been bound, but Steve was most concerned about an ugly looking knot popping up on the side of her forehead where it had met the corner of the table as she fell. Steve used his free hand to caress her cheek softly. "Sweetie, can you hear me?"

Cassie let out a soft moan before her eyes began to flicker open. She looked around a little confused. Then cast a glance in Steve's direction. "You saved me." She whispered.

"Of course I did." He gave her a weak smile as he caressed her cheek again.

"I was so scared, Steve." Tears came to her eyes. "If you wouldn't have gotten here when you did, he was going to…"

"Shhhh. Shhh. Don't talk about it right now, okay?" Steve soothed her. "He's never going to hurt you again." Not caring that Danny and Kono were both watching, Steve leaned down to give her a soft kiss on the mouth just as the paramedics entered the room and made their way to her. They decided to take her to the hospital to make sure she didn't have a concussion. Carly had insisted that she would be fine, but Steve had agreed with the paramedics and said he would stay by her side the entire way. He wasn't leaving her again.

As they prepared to get her out of the hotel room and into the ambulance, Steve stopped where Danny and Dylan were standing. He got within inches of Dylan's face….Close enough to make him feel threatened and uncomfortable.

"Just so you know…..I'm not finished with you." Steve said in a barely controlled rumble. "Not…..even…..close."

"Do you know who I am?" Dylan scoffed. "My father will have me out within the hour. Especially after assaulting me like you did!"

"See… that's where you're wrong." Steve smirked. "We have what is called "full immunity and means". Basically, I can hold your sorry ass for as long as I want and your daddy can't do a damn thing about it." He let that sink in before looking at Danny. "Get him to HQ. Make sure he's _uncomfortable._ I'll deal with him later."

"With pleasure." Danny smiled as he jerked Dylan away and headed for the car.

********h50******h50***********h50

After the doctors confirmed that Cassie did indeed have a mild concussion, they reluctantly released her to Steve's care. Standard protocol was to keep her overnight for observation, but Steve had worked with Dr. Collins before and was able to convince him that Cassie would be safer under his care. He promised to keep a very close eye on her and bring her in at the first sign of an emergency. As long as she got plenty of rest and didn't over exert herself, they would come back the following day for a check up.

Steve drove Cassie back to HQ and got her settled in his office. "We have strict orders that you need to rest." He pointed to his couch, "So…._that_ is your spot until we can go home, okay? If you need anything, Pua can get it for you." Steve motioned to the officer who was waiting in the doorway. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Where are you going?" Cassie asked, a little anxious that he was leaving.

"I'm going to have a little more fun with Dylan." Steve smirked at her.

Cassie couldn't help but smile. "You're terrible."

Steve feigned shock, "Are you kidding me? He deserves everything that's coming to him."

"Yeah, maybe so."

"I'll be right back." Steve left the office for just a moment before returning with a small pillow and blanket.

"Where did you get those?"

"I'm very resourceful. I'm sorry it's not a softer blanket. I'll do better when I get you home." Steve winked at her before kissing her sweet mouth. "Now….I want you to rest. Understand me?"

Cassie offered him a smart little salute, "Yes, sir, Commander sir."

Steve couldn't help but chuckle. "If I haven't told you before, I love your sass." There was a twinkle in his eye before his gaze turned more serious, "Don't get mad at me, but I called Joe."

She looked at him with big eyes. "Why?"

"Because I promised to keep him updated and he needed to know what had happened. I haven't told him what happened with Roberts _before_…but…"

Cassie sighed, "I know. I'll tell him. When will he be here?"

"He was taking the first flight he could get out of D.C., so we'll see."

He kissed her again with a promise to be back as soon as he could. Then, walked out of his office to find Danny and made their way down to interrogation.

*********h50************h50**************h50

They found Dylan still sitting in the chair where Danny had left him a couple of hours earlier. He wasn't too pleased to have been left alone that long.

"It's about time you show up! I need medical attention. I think you broke my damn nose!" he shouted.

Steve looked him over. It did indeed look as if his nose was broken. He tried very hard not to show the satisfaction he felt knowing he was the one to break it.

"In due time, Mr. Roberts." Steve replied as calmly as possible. "Right now, we have a few questions for you."

"Screw you. I'm not answering anything. I want to call my lawyer."

"Alright, have it your way. We'll just go ahead and book you for the murder of Marcus Cutler. It makes our jobs a lot easier when we can just wrap things up all nice and tidy like this. Right, Danny?" Steve and Danny turned to walk out, but Dylan stopped them.

"Wait." He said just as they reached the door. Both men turned back around to face him. "I didn't kill Marcus. You have to believe me. I had nothing to do with it."

"Oh? Then, why were you seen leaving his room that night?" asked Steve.

"Marcus and I were friends. I went there to warn him."

"Warn him about what?" Danny asked.

Dylan looked as if he was struggling with what to tell them.

"You might as well come clean." Steve said, "We already have you on kidnapping and attempted sexual assault. It'll be just as easy to add a murder charge to the pot and get it over with."

Dylan glared at Steve. "I'll say it again….I did _not_ murder Marcus Cutler. I also didn't sexually assault anyone, no matter what that slut Cassie told you."

Steve took a step forward but Danny stopped him by putting a hand in front of him. "I'd watch my mouth if I were you. Unless, of course, you'd like to get something else broken." Danny warned. "We know all about what happened in Phoenix between you and Cassie, so save your breath. You should be thanking your lucky stars I didn't let this guy kill you back at the hotel." He paused to let that sink in before continuing, "Believe me, we're going to deal with what you did to Cassie. But right now, we want to know about Cutler. What did you want to warn him about?"

Dylan sighed, "Marcus and I had some projects we were working on in Phoenix with another business partner. But recently, Marcus started making some stupid mistakes. Mistakes that our partner didn't like. He's not someone to tangle with….so I wanted to warn Marcus to take a step back before something happened."

"Does this partner have a name?" asked Steve.

"Yes, he has a name, but I'm not giving it to you. I could jeopardize my own life by implicating him in any of this and I'm not going to do that."

Steve thought for a moment. "Okay, fine. If this partner is who I think it is, you're probably dead anyway. So how about this: How about we turn you lose and make sure word gets back to him that you ratted him out while we had you in here."

"You can't do that!" Dylan screamed.

"Sure we can." Danny responded. "Especially since we know these 'projects' you were working on involved paying off cops to cover up crimes and tamper with evidence so drug dealers could go free."

Dylan took a moment to think about his options and realized he was out of them. It wasn't going to get any easier. "Okay fine." He took a deep breath. "I'll tell you his name but you have to give me protection."

Even though Steve already knew the answer, they needed Dylan to confirm it. "Tell me his name and we'll think about it."

"His name is Wo Fat."

Steve's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Joe.

Danny looked at Dylan and smirked, "Sit tight, cupcake. We'll be right back."


End file.
